
Class _l_ _Zl.i4. 

Book_ (W3, 

Copigk^°_ 



cqbright BEPosrr, 




From a Portrait Painted by E. E. Richards 



Lifting the Veil 



How You Yourself May Acquire Mystic 

Power and Develop Mind, Body 

and Spirit 



CAjl^^hLl 



By 



PRINCESS WAHLETKA 

World Renowned Indian Seeress 



<M 



Published by 

ASHFIELD & ROYAL 
New York. 

>1^ > 






Copyright by 

Ashfield & Royal, 

New York. 



Printed in the U. S. A. by 

The International Press 

150 I^fayette Street, New York 

©C1A766898 
JAN 25 24 






^ 



To the gentle little old lady whose spirit is with 
me constantly, and to whom I may be indebted in 
greater degree than shall ever be made clear until 
I, too, pass behind the veil that separates the Here 
from the Hereafter. 

Gratefully, 

Princess Wahletka. 



CONTENTS 



Introduction. 

Chapter 

I. My Life Story 22 

II. What is This Mysterious Power?. . 33 

III. Does My Work Prove That The Dead 
Still Live ? 47 

IV. Disclosing Your Hidden Diseases... 56 

V. A Few Instances of Fulfilled Pre- 
dictions 67 

VI. In Every Person There Is Something 
of the Psychic 83 

VII. Cultivating Your Hidden Forces 89 

VIII. Why Every Normal Person Likes Or 
Dislikes Certain Other People In- 
stinctively 105 

IX. How All Your Forces Are Built Up 
By Sleep 121 

X. Your Hypnotic Forces And How To 
Cultivate Them 128 

XI. How To Employ Suggestive Treat- 
ment On Others 143 

XII. Inborn Cowardice And Its Cure. ...147 

XIII. Ghosts On West Forty-Ninth St... 162 

XIV. The Hope of The World IJOO 



INTRODUCTION. 

The wisest man that ever lived once said, 
"There are more things in heaven and earth 
than are dreamed of in thy philosophy, 
Horatio." Informed people quite generally 
admit that William was, and still is, 
correct. 

This applies particularly to matters con- 
nected with psychic research. The fact, 
for instance, that certain peculiarly sensi- 
tive individuals can establish communica- 
tion with the subconscious minds of other 
individuals, and elicit from them informa- 
tion on subjects long forgotten by the ob- 
jective mind of the subject, is admitted by 
the Society for Psychical Research, and by 
practically every intelligent human being. 

Even the most intimate details in con- 
nection with such information can be 
dragged from the dark pools of the sub- 
conscious, and given a local habitation and 
a name by these wonder-working seers. 

But that the psychically-endowed can 
9 



impart information on matters entirely un- 
known to the subject, or that they can 
project their consciousness along those 
golden strands of life as yet unspun, and 
read the still unrolled scroll of fate, is a 
matter of general disbelief. 

Science cannot accept the facts, for these 
facts seem to contravene accepted natural 
law. And yet certain individuals are prov- 
ing every day that Science, in maintaining 
this position, is a couple of hundred years 
behind the times. They flout the fact that 
the thing cannot be done by going right 
ahead and doing it. 

Perhaps the most extraordinary example 
of this in all the world is the Princess 
Wahletka, a grand-daughter of the Chero- 
kee Chief, Spybuca. 

From her earliest childhood Princess 
Wahletka (the name means "Red Apple" 
in Cherokee) has exhibited phenomenal 
psychic powers. She has been able not 
only to read the innermost thoughts of 
thousands of people with whom she has 
been brought in contact, but she has also 
astounded these people by disclosing the 
location or disposition of lost or stolen ar- 
ticles. Also, events of importance yet to 
transpire in their lives. 

10 



She possesses also an astounding facility 
and accuracy in diagnosing physical condi- 
tions, hardly discoverable by even the most 
astute medical man. Her accuracy in tel- 
epathy is almost unbelievable — I should 
say almost 100% perfect. Her ability to 
foretell the future is, according to tabula- 
tions made in several hundred cases, more 
than 85% correct. 

I know these things, because dozens of 
instances of these uncanny powers have 
come within my own purvey. Princess 
Wahletka has told me things that were to 
transpire in my own experience. Several 
of these things have already come to pass. 
Certain of the others, I can see clearly, 
are shaping themselves according to her 
prognostications of almost a year ago. 

This ability to foretell future events 
probably depends upon the fact that, for 
certain individuals, time and space do not 
exist. As Browning says, "What was, is; 
and what is to be, is now." 

However, actual reports are much more 
convincing than metaphysical speculation. 

Here is one: 

My friend, Mr. Walter Griffith, at pres- 
ent connected with the E. W. Hellwig Com- 

11 



pany, New York, came to me a year or 
more ago with a report that Mrs. Griffith 
had, the evening before, either lost or had 
stolen from her, all her jewels, valued at 
some $6,000. Being at that time actively 
interested in an investigation of psychic 
phenomena, and having seen, under the 
strictest test conditions, at least one hun- 
dred or more demonstrations of the psychic 
power of Princess Wahletka, I made an 
appointment for Mr. and Mrs. Griffith to 
call on the Princess Wahletka with me at 
her apartment in the Maryland Hotel, New 
York. 

After salutations, and without preamble, 
Princess Wahletka turned to Mrs. Griffith 
and said, "You have recently mislaid your 
jewels. You think they have been lost, or 
that they are stolen. The fact of the mat- 
ter is that, in a somnambulistic condition, 
you removed the jewels from where you 
had left them on the dresser, and hid them 
in your apartment, concealed in some white 
garment. You will find them again, but 
not until the early part of June." It was 
then April. 

On the 6th day of June of last year, 
Mrs. Griffith came to my office to tell me 
that she had found all her jewels, carefully 

12 



wrapped up, and concealed in a discarded 
waist in the bottom drawer of one of her 
trunks. Naturally she was delighted, and 
deeply indebted to Wahletka for her en- 
couraging prediction. 

Another instance of which I have per- 
sonal knowledge concerned the recovery 
of a jewel bag lost by an artist quite prom- 
inent in New York. Here are the facts: 

In June, 1922, Irving Eastman, of 47 
West 49th St., New York, while walking 
from 49th Street to the Guarantee Trust 
Co. Safety Vaults, at 44th Street and Fifth 
Avenue, lost a chamois bag, containing a 
diamond ring and a pearl bracelet — old 
family heirlooms belonging to his Mother. 

He asked the Princess if she could help 
him find the property. The Princess told 
Eastman that the jewels had been found 
by a man whose first name began with W., 
and that the property would be restored 
to him within 24 hours. Two days later 
an actor, William Quirk, returned the 
jewels. Mr. Quirk had been out of town 
for nearly a week and had not seen ad- 
vertisements nor the news stories concern- 
ing the loss of the jewels. The only error 
the Princess made in this matter was in 
her prognosis as to the time elapsing before 

13 



tire jewels would be returned. This was 
48, instead of 24 hours. 

The Princess is quite as accurate in lo- 
cating dead bodies or in solving mysterious 
disappearances as she is in locating lost 
articles. To illustrate: 

On September 15, 1920, the body of 
Charles McClure was found in a small 
stream near Altoona, Pa. On September 
11, at the request of the Altoona Times- 
Tribune, the Princess had predicted that 
the missing boy, who had been drowned 
near his home in Robertsdale, would be 
found by dropping bread on water near 
where a small stream enters the larger. 
"The bread will sink near where the body 
lies," she predicted. 

Her prediction was fulfilled to the letter, 
the body being found on the day following, 
caught in a snag covered with sand, in a 
basin, where a small stream enters into 
the Susquehanna River. 

Why the bread should have become 
"water-logged" and have sunk in the exact 
spot in which the boy's body was lodged, 
I do not pretend to explain. 

Personally speaking, I do not regard it 
as more than an interesting coincidence. 
For there is nothing in natural law to ac- 

14 



count for this occurrence. But neither is 
there anything in natural law to account for 
predictive dreams, or hundreds of other 
puzzling phenomena. 

One of thousands of instances, which 
seem to indicate that there is a survival of 
consciousness after death, and that, under 
certain conditions, spirits may be able to 
communicate with intelligences on this 
plane, seems to be proved by the following 
experience : 

In 1 92 1, A. Mason, 46 Red Rock Street, 
West Derby Road, Liverpool, England, was 
told by the Princess that his uncle was 
in spirit. In a letter received by the Prin- 
cess a few days later, Mr. Mason says: "I 
did not know he was dead, but two days 
later I received word of his death." 

I have heard her give similar messages 
to at least a dozen people. Indeed, it is 
a matter of almost weekly occurrence with 
her to inform some inquirer that the party 
for whom they were inquiring had died 
at such and such a time, and was buried 
in such and such a place. 

It is, however, quite as easy for her to 
locate the living. 

For instance, on July 17, 192 1, A. E. 
Barker, 11 Partington St., Couran Street, 

15 



M.C., Manchester, England, wrote to the 
Princess, following a visit to the theatre in 
Leeds where she had played the week pre- 
ceding, and where he had asked her regard- 
ing the whereabouts of a cousin of his who 
had been missing for seven years. 

"He went away, leaving a short note 
saying that he was tired of England and 
was going abroad, not naming his destina- 
tion." In a flash she said: "Don't worry! 
He has gone through some very troublous 
times and has been mentally ill. He is in 
Vancouver. He has been to the War and 
lost an arm and is now progressing favor- 
ably. You will hear from him before rain 
falls/' 

Mr. Barker left, feeling that all this lady 
had told him was impossible. But to his 
amazement, two days later a note arrived. 
This he holds clearly as proof. His cousin 
wrote from Burnaby, Vancouver, telling 
him that after a long struggle and a severe 
operation on his arm, through war injury, 
he had just settled down to married bliss. 

Also, I. G. Navarre, of 2804 Eighth 
Avenue West, Seattle, Washington, wrote 
that he had received a letter from his miss- 
ing sister Ethel. A year before he had 
asked the Princess in a theatre if she could 

16 



tell him where his sister was. She said 
that she did not know the name of the 
town, but that his sister had passed through 
a period of poverty as a result of an un- 
fortunate marriage, and that within a year 
her husband would die and that she would 
be free, and that she would correspond with 
him again. He wrote to the New York 
booking offices to inform the Princess of 
the correctness of her prediction, of more 
than a year previous. 

Ability to prognosticate future events in 
a way that might be turned to extremely 
profitable advantage, were the Princess 
Wahletka inclined to gamble, which she 
is not, is proved by the following: 

While on board the S. S. Olympic en 
route to London in the summer of 1921, 
the Princess received a wireless message 
from Alfred Davis, of the Moss Empires, 
Ltd., London, requesting her as a test to 
name the horse which would win the Ep- 
som Downs Derby, to take place shortly 
after her arrival. The Princess named the 
winner correctly from a list of horses, the 
names of which she had never seen thereto- 
fore. Mr. Davis, who bet on her choice, 
was a large winner. 

I have had personal experience in the ac- 
17 



curacy of a dozen or more predictions of 
a business nature, which the Princess Wah- 
letka has made for certain friends of mine, 
which incline me to the belief that her 
estimation as to only 85 % of her predictions 
being true is an under-statement. I should 
say that 95% is more accurate. 

As to the means whereby these marvels 
are brought about, there is a wide diversity 
of opinion. The most conservative thought 
is that they are all explainable on the 
grounds of mental telepathy, per se. In 
other words, any information which the 
subject may possess can be retrieved from 
the subject's subconscious mind by the 
Princess Wahletka. 

For example, the subconscious mind of 
Mrs. Griffith, concerning whom I have 
spoken in this introduction, had distinct 
recollection of the fact that Mrs. Griffith 
had, in a somnambulistic condition, arisen 
from her bed, secured her jewels, and hid- 
den them in this white garment. 

Why this particular garment should be re- 
covered early in the month of June, instead 
of immediately, or at any other time in the 
future, is one of those problems in psychic 
research concerning which there are a dozen 
different hypothesis — the most feasible be- 

18 



ing that, this subconscious mind being able 
to project itself, as it were into the future, 
may be able to prognosticate, with startling 
clearness and accuracy, the exact time at 
which such discovery of the lost jewels 
would be made. 

In the matter of location of lost bodies, 
the problem is somewhat more complex. 
Certain psychic investigators contend that 
this also is explained on the hypothesis of 
mental telepathy. For instance, Dr. 
Thomas Jay Hudson, author of "The Law 
of Psychic Phenomena," contends that a 
drowning boy, at the moment of his death, 
might send out a tremendously potent and 
forceful message to his mother, or to some 
other individual for whom he might have 
a wonderful affection. 

This mother, not being psychically en 
rapport with her son, might receive the mes- 
sage subconsciously, yet be totally unable 
to raise this message to the threshold of ob- 
jective consciousness. 

On the supposition that, if her son could 
communicate with the mother, the mother 
might be in turn able to communicate sub- 
consciously with an intimate friend; some 
friend of hers might, in sympathizing with 
her, and in trying to assuage her grief, de- 

19 



velop subconscious knowledge of the facts 
in connection with the son's demise. 

This friend, also, might have been totally 
unable to lift this message above the 
threshold of her objective consciousness. 
Yet, this friend might consult some spiritu- 
alistic medium or psychist, who would 
immediately be able to extract the facts 
in connection with the death of this boy 
from the subconscious mind of her visitor, 
imparting them in detail to this visitor, 
who, in turn, would carry the details of the 
message back to the mother as a distinct 
and definite message from her dead boy. 

Dr. Hudson goes so far as to say that 
such spirit communication may be im- 
parted ad infinitum, often over a period of 
decades. So that a message definitely sub- 
jective in its origin, might ultimately be 
uncovered by someone many years after 
the instance which stimulated it had oc- 
curred, and even years after everybody or- 
iginally connected with the incident had 
died. 

This seems to me infinitely more far- 
fetched and difficult to believe than a" 
straightforward admission that the spirit of 
the dead boy had returned to a conscious- 
ness attuned to catch its vibration, and had 

20 



imparted a definite message, which in turn, 
was transmitted to the sorrowing mother. 

However, the Princess will discuss these 
matters at length in the very interesting 
pages which I have had the pleasure and 
privilege of editing. Inasmuch as Wahletka 
is a profound student of psychic phenom- 
ena and has had the opportunity of dis- 
cussing some of these matters with some 
of the world's greatest scientists, it is quite 
probable that her explanation may be in- 
finitely more to the point and much more 
interesting than my own. 

The Princess is now undergoing examina- 
tion by several of the best qualified investi- 
gators of psychic phenomena in this coun- 
try. The results of these investigations will 
shortly be made public in a series of ar- 
ticles in one of the big popular magazines. 

It is safe to say that the publication of 
these articles will arouse wide-spread in- 
terest among scientists everywhere, and es- 
pecially among people who are interested 
in following the developments of one of 
the most fascinating of all sciences — the 
Science of Psychic Research. 

Dr. Edwin F. Bowers. 
564 Riverside Drive, 

New York. 
21 



CHAPTER I. 

My Life Story. 

The love of my father and my mother 
was a love story such as only a few of the 
favored can even hope to experience. My 
father came from Canada to the land of 
the Iroquois, where lived my tribe, and 
there he saw my mother, the daughter of 
Spy Buck — or Spybuca, as his tribe called 
him — chief medicine man of the Cherokee 
tribe. 

My mother and father straightway fell 
in love with each other and they then and 
there vowed themselves to each other. 

Then it was that the anger of the tribe 
was aroused. But because of the love of 
the white man for their Princess, and be- 
cause he was willing to swear the oath, Spy 
Buck gave my father the Princess for his 
wife, and my father became a member of 
the Cherokee tribe, and wore the headdress 
and the garb of my people. 

22 



But the happiness of my father lasted 
only a little while because, almost as soon 
as I was born, my mother, the Princess, 
died. 

Loud and bitter was the lamentation 
among my people when this sad event oc- 
curred. The story of their grief was told 
to me in after years, when I became old 
enough to understand these things. I was 
too young then even to understand what 
the loss meant to me. 

At the time my mother, the Princess of 
the Cherokee Indian tribe, left us to go 
over into the Happy Valley I was but two 
weeks old. With her going my father, 
whom later I loved with all my heart and 
being, became a wanderer over the moun- 
tains and through the valleys. There was 
no room for him in the tribe after his 
Princess had gone away. 

You see, he was a white man, and al- 
though he wore a brave's headdress and 
had sworn the oath of my people, yet he 
was not one of us in blood, and could not 
hope to aspire to the chieftainship. So 
he went away, and I was left alone with 
the people whom, so it was planned, I was 
later to rule as Princess. 

23 



My Curious Childhood. 

Slowly the years passed away, and there 
came to me a knowledge that I was differ- 
ent from the other maidens of my tribe. 
At first it was no more than the conscious- 
ness that I had no father and mother. 
Then, later, I was taught that I was differ- 
ent because I was Princess of the tribe, 
and it seemed to me that it was fitting that 
it should be so. 

Then I became curious and I asked the 
women who were about me to tell me of 
my father and mother who had gone away, 
and they told me the beautiful love story, 
and its sad, sad ending. 

The telling of that story made me grieve 
for my mother, and I longed for my father 
who was wandering about in the world, 
alone and lonely, My heart sought after 
him, I demanded to know more of him. 
And the more I was told, the more did I 
long to see the big white man who was my 
father. 

"It is impossible," I was told. "You 
are of the tribe, you are its Princess, and 
the white man, your father, is of the white 
people. And because you belong to us he 
has given you to us." 

24 



I Knew My Father Would Return 
to Me. 

With that I had to be content. And yet 
I knew, because this mysterious power that 
was within me told me, that my father, 
whom I had never seen, would one day 
come back for me. I tell you that I knew, 
yet I cannot tell you how I knew. The 
knowledge was there that it would happen, 
that one day there would come into our 
midst the big white man to whom I be- 
longed by a blood tie greater than the blood 
tie of the tribe. 

That knowledge, although I was yet no 
more than a little girl, brought me peace. 
It was after that there came to me the con- 
sciousness that there was an even greater 
difference between me and the other 
maidens of the tribe than the absence of 
father and mother and the rank of Princess. 

I discovered that I possessed the powers 
of divination. I could see into the past and 
future of the people about me, and even 
into the past and future of people whom 
I had never seen. 

When I made that discovery it did not 
seem strange to me ; it seemed to me to be 

25 



only fitting. Was not I a Princess of the 
Cherokees? 

The way I came to learn was this. It 
was the custom of my people to assemble 
once a year, and it became my custom to 
tell them of the secret things that has hap- 
pened during the past, and of the still more 
secret things that lay hidden from their 
eyes in the future. Sometimes these 
prophesies brought peace — at other times 
they brought fear. But always I showed 
them the truth, and many things happened 
as I foretold. 

There was then to come the time when 
I was to be acknowledged a prophetess 
whose words could never fail. That was the 
time just before the long awaited return of 
my father, when I related to the Chief, 
Spy Buck, my grandfather, that a favorite 
horse would drop dead in a race. I pointed 
out to him the very spot where the horse 
would fall. This race was a most im- 
portant event, and my people were greatly 
interested in it, betting heavily, as is their 
custom, on the results. They were told 
my words. Most of them, I am happy to 
say, refrained from risking their bets on 
the Cherokee horse. 

Then came the great day of the race, 



and the horse fell dead in its tracks, just 
as I had said that it would. And on the 
exact spot I had foreshown. 

My Father Returns to Claim Me. 

Then it was that the time of waiting for 
the return of my father came to an end. 
He returned to my people and he claimed 
me, with all the imperiousness, and with the 
same masterfulness with which he had 
claimed my mother as a bride. He an- 
nounced to them all that I was his daughter, 
and that the tie of kinship could not be 
broken, and that my blood was his blood, 
that I belonged to him. 

So it was that I went to him gladly, and 
I learned to love him just as any white 
maiden loves her daddy. However, the 
Cherokees are still my people, and I am 
still their Princess, although my love and 
my memory are still loyal to the big white 
man who was my father, and who has 
since gone over into the Happy Valley to 
join my mother. 

My Early Education. 
During all the time I lived among the 
Indians, I had received the education which 
is given by the learned among my people. 

27 



But after my father took me I was given 
an education such as is given to the 
daughters of rich white people in this 
country. 

I was taught languages of the different 
nations of the world. And I was taught 
many other things in the famous Carlisle 
School for Indians, the most celebrated in- 
stitution of its kind in the world, where I 
spent a number of happy, and, I hope, 
profitable years. 

My School-Day Powers. 

Even in my school days the power of 
divination came to my aid, and I could tell 
what was in the mind of my teachers even 
before they spoke. The gift I possessed 
caused my father to wonder, and that also 
gave me great delight and happiness. One 
day some friends who marvelled at things 
I had told persuaded my father to let me 
appear before a public audience and demon- 
strate the mysterious gift with which I had 
been endowed. 

My father consented, and everyone was 
amazed. Some were frightened, because I 
could tell them not only the secret things 
in their hearts, which they had never spoken 
aloud, not only of what had happened to 

28 



them in the past — but also what lay in 
wait for them and which were surely to 
happen. These things happened even as I 
had told that they would. 

How My Work Was Recognized. 

Then the fame of my gift went abroad. 
I travelled the length and breadth of the 
land, giving public performances that have 
made my name and work familiar to hun- 
dreds of thousands of people. 

I have appeared before many of the 
world's greatest scientists, instructors in 
psychology in famous universities. My 
work, and the demonstrations of my 
psychic ability, have been acclaimed by 
them as marvelous. 

Many of these men have materially 
modified their theories, to accord with facts 
developed during the investigation of the 
phenomena connected with my work. 

In England my performances were made 
the subject of profound psychological study. 
While, at the same time, men and women, 
high in scientific, diplomatic and social cir- 
cles, "took me up" in most serious and flat- 
tering manner. 

The press in England was particularly 
29 



kind, although, I am happy to say, not 
more so than the press in my own America. 
I should like to quote here a few comments 
from the English and American press. 

A Few Press Comments. 

"Her extraordinary 'Senses' has aroused 
much public interest." 

Daily Mail (London). 

"The Princess' Psychic Powers are really 
remarkable." 

Daily Graphic (London). 

"Her powers will be found astonishing." 
Morning Advertiser (London). 

"The Princess told members of the audience 
things about personal matters which left 
them amazed." 

Evening Standard (London). 

"A Princess from whom no secret is 
bidden.? 

News of the World (London). 

"Some of her divinations were almost 
weirdly correct." 

The People (London). 

"Has powers of a most remarkable 
character." 

Yorkshire Post (Leeds). 
80 



"She gives an amazing performance in mind 
reading." 

Evening Chronicle (Manchester). 

"Her foreknowledge is uncanny." 

City News (Manchester). 

"Her prophesies have proved uncannily 



accurate." 



Weekly Board (Glasgow). 



The New York World, hundreds of 
American newspapers have been equally 
kind. Many of the most eminent and 
prominent men in this country have highly 
commended me. 

The late Theodore Roosevelt, whom I 
am proud to have called friend, said pub- 
licly, "If you want to know anything about 
anybody, ask the Royal Indian Mystic 
Maiden. But be careful of asking about 
yourself, as before her eerie eye you stand 
revealed, and she has a way of being poig- 
nantly candid." 

Ex-President Wilson, with whom I have 
had frequent delightful visits, has often re- 
ferred to me as "The Human Ouija Board." 

From thousands of people in this coun- 
try and in England, I have received won- 
derful letters thanking me for the joy, 

31 



the hope, the comfort I have, through the 
grace of God, been instrumental in bring- 
ing to them. 

And so, I am proud of the good friends 
I have made. I am happy to have been 
considered worthy of bearing to my fellow 
men and women this great gift. 

I hope I may be spared for many years 
to continue in this work, although it may 
be more than likely that I shall shortly find 
it expedient to retire from public life, and 
devote myself exclusively to work with 
psychic research investigators, who are at- 
tempting to formulate or prove from my 
work a definite plan in psychic law, and 
possibly — what is even more important 
— a conclusive demonstration of life after 
death. 

I hope this may be definitely determined, 
for my own satisfaction and soul comfort, 
as well as for the solace and comfort of 
countless thousands who are now groping 
hopelessly for just this assurance. 

If I can be of even slight assistance in 
helping to shed light on this profoundly im- 
portant problem I shall come to the bright 
border of the Happy Hunting Grounds, 
feeling that my life here shall not have been 

lived in vain. 

32 




Minnie Spy Buck, Mother of Wahletka 



CHAPTER II. 
What Is This Mysterious Power? 

Many and varied have been the theories 
advanced to account for the mysterious 
power, so conclusively and accurately de- 
monstrated in thousands of instances during 
my career. 

Many have ascribed it entirely to tele- 
pathy. Others to actual communications 
from spirits of the dead, interested in being 
of service to the person whose unuttered 
question is being answered. Others again 
to that strange power of divination shown 
by the Cassandras and oracles and prophets 
of all ages. 

Others again ascribe it to collusion be- 
tween myself and my husband, who is my 
assistant — or else to trickery, pure and 
simple. 

Of skeptics there have been not a few — 
men and women whose skepticism is un- 

33 



doubtedly well founded, and who remain 
firmly intrenched in the "agnostic stage" 
as regards their attitude towards this prac- 
tical applied psychology. 

How Is It Done? 

For the benefit of those who have not 
seen my public performances, I would say 
that it is my custom to come upon the 
stage, and after a short introduction by my 
assistant, blindfold myself. My assistant 
then passes among the audience, stopping 
here and there among the hundreds who 
clamor for his attention to ask, "What is 
this lady's name?" 

I am usually able to give at least the 
first name of the inquirer. I can quite as 
readily give the last name as well, although, 
owing to the natural embarrassment that 
might result from such a course, I do not 
usually do so. 

The name having been given correctly, 
my assistant asks me to tell the lady what 
she is thinking about, and to give her all 
the information I am able to concerning 
her question. 

I then proceed to tell her whether she 
34 



will marry the young gentleman she has in 
mind; or get a divorce from the husband 
she wants to get rid of; or whether the 
brother for whom she is solicitous is dead, 
or in Arizona or Australia ; whether the lost 
article is merely mislaid, or whether it is 
stolen. In about 85% of instances, I am 
able to tell whether the business venture 
in operation or contemplated will or will 
not prove successful. 

How I Often Help the Doctor. 

I also seem to be able to tell with an 
astonishing degree of accuracy, the physi- 
cal condition of the questioner, or the 
physical condition of one in whom she is 
profoundly interested. In point of fact, I 
have diagnosed thousands of cases of dia- 
betes, Bright' s disease, cancer, tuberculosis, 
and other obscure conditions, the presence 
of which was totally unknown to the ques- 
tioner at the time of asking the question. 
These diagnoses were subsequently con- 
firmed by scientific medical examination. 

At the conclusion of this part of the en- 
tertainment, my assistant returns to the 
stage, and requests all individuals in the 

35 



audience, wishing to have a personal an- 
swer, to concentrate their mind on their 
name and question. My assistant stands 
at the side, near the wings, I stand in the 
center of the stage. 

Without any word from him I proceed 
to call the name of some individual seated 
in the auditorium, or perhaps even in the 
balcony or gallery. I tell him or her what 
he or she is thinking of, and the question 
they desire to have answered. 

My assistant asks that the person whose 
name I have called, and whose question I 
have stated, to rise or raise their hand, and 
identify themselves and acknowledge their 
question. I then proceed to answer the 
question, telling the individual that his or 
her mother is suffering from a mental con- 
dition which in all probability never will 
be cured; or that the fur piece they have 
lost will be found in a certain pawn shop, 
or that the child, which they are expect- 
ing, will be born without any complications 
in the early part of August, and so forth. 

I answer from 30 to 50 questions in all, 
at each performance— and quite frequently 
am informed that I am correct in every 
single instance — quite 100% of accurate 
answers to a performance. 

36 



What Science Says About This. 

Professors of psychology and many stu- 
dents of psychological problems have 
claimed that it is impossible to do these 
things by the method ordinarily known as 
telepathy or mind-reading. This, for the 
reason that telepathy is usually a slow and 
cumbersome process, and could not be ad- 
vantageously used in the touch-and-go re- 
quired for popular entertainment. 

Therefore, they say that the "thought 
transference" from the audience to the 
stage is all done by tricks of various kinds. 
They say that sometimes the assistant car- 
ries his message to the operator on the stage 
by means of various voice modulations, by 
a sequence of words, and by certain other 
arbitrary signals. Then the assistant may 
use a certain pitch in his voice to indicate 
that the questioner is a man or a woman. 

It is understood that Anna Eva Fay 
used to throw a sheet over her head to 
cover up the speaking tube that was run 
up through the floor to help her with her 
"spirit communications." 

During my act, I stand out in full view 
of the audience and I even walk up and 
down the stage while doing my work. I go 

37 



alone, sit at a table among a dozen or 
twenty keen witted scientific men, and pro- 
fessional magicians, who know every de- 
tail of every trick ever used by fakirs. 

I appear, entirely without previous in- 
troduction, before countless audiences and 
gatherings with whom I could not possibly 
have had any communication. And thou- 
sands of these good folks have been kind 
enough and generous enough to say that I 
have astounded them. 

The Nature of the Power. 

As to just how I get my results I con- 
fess I do not know. I seem to "see" with 
my mind's eye, and to hear with my mind's 
ear, and to sense a personality and a 
message. 

They just pop into my head like a flash 
of lightning — one after another, until the 
forces that seem to govern this strange 
function, or else the particular brain cells 
that operate in the manifestation become 
fatigued and I have to stop. 

One thing I do know. This faculty de- 
pends largely upon healthy functioning. If 
I am ill or exhausted, if I am mentally or 
physically tired, my forces are decidedly 
weak. 

38 



If I am strong, and in good physical 
and nervous condition, my forces are strong. 

My messages are strong, easily and quickly 
gotten, and much more definite. 

This is one reason why, in this book, I 
am laying so much stress upon the neces- 
sity of your maintaining a healthy physical 
condition. You cannot afford to neglect 
your health, your diet, or proper hygiene 
and care of the body. 

psychometry or the essence of 

Things. 

There is one other factor of my work 
which has proven of absorbing interest to 
the scientific men who have investigated 
my results, and to hundreds of people who 
have been edified or materially helped by 
them. This is my seeming ability to hold 
any object, such as a folded paper, a deed, 
will or other document, and give a re- 
markably clear analysis of the subject mat- 
ter of the document, and the possible com- 
plications that may have risen or that are 
to arise as a result of conflict or controversy 
over the matter detailed in the document. 

Also, any trinkets of objects that have 
been long in the possession of a person, or 

39 



any garments that have been worn by him 
or her for any considerable time, seem to 
carry with them some intangible essence of 
their state that often gives me a wonder- 
fully clear picture, not only of his physical 
and mental characteristics, but also of 
many things that seem destined to develop 
for him in the immediate future. 

H. Addison Bruce, the well known popu- 
lar writer on psychology and kindred sub- 
jects in discussing this subject says: Psy- 
chometry designates a process whereby in- 
formation is alleged to be supernormally 
obtained through the handling of inanimate 
objects. 

"Suppose, for example," he says "that a 
jewel has been associated with some tragic 
occurrence. If that jewel be placed in the 
hand of some one having the psychometric 
'gift' the latter may be given a mental 
vision, so to speak, of the tragedy relating 
to the jewel. 

"Or suppose that a person is missing and 
that all efforts to learn that person's where- 
abouts have failed. By taking to a psy- 
chometrist some article belonging to the 
missing one there may result an explicit 
and correct statement as to where the lat- 
ter is to be found, alive or dead. 

40 



"This of course sounds quite incredible. 
Yet the fact is that the annals of psychical 
research abound with instances in which 
the actuality of psychometry would seem 
to be established. 

"Many missing persons are reported to 
have been found with psychometry's aid, 
and again and again psychometrists, handl- 
ing jewels, coins, trinkets, pieces of cloth- 
ing, etc., have narrated incidents concern- 
ing which they could hardly have gained 
knowledge by ordinary means. 

"So impressive is the evidence going to 
validate psychometry that few psychical re- 
searchers are today skeptical about it. But 
there is a great difference of opinion as to 
the true source of the information which 
psychometrists dispense always more or less 
dramatically." 

Is It Telepathy 
Or Spirit Invention? 

"Some insist that the object held is verit- 
able the agent by which the knowledge is 
conveyed to the psychometrist and by him 
transmitted to his "sitters." This assumes 
that the inanimate is capable of retaining 
and projecting all sorts of psychic images, 
an assumption so startling that it may 

41 



well be said to challenge conceivability." 
Among those deeming this assumption 
inconceivable but still feeling that psychom- 
etry must be accepted as proved, there are 
many who resort to telepathy as an ex- 
planation. 

The information given, they theorize, is 
drawn, not from the object held, but from 
some living mind. On this basis psychom- 
etry would be reduced to a "tapping" of 
other people's minds. When, however, psy- 
chometry gives information that would 
seem unknowable by any living person — 
as information relating to the whereabouts 
of some one who has wandered away and 
died in solitude — there are those who argue 
that telepathy is no longer an adequate 
explanation. Psychometry, in this view, 
must be attributed either to a species of 
clairvoyance or to the intervention of some 
spirit. 

All of which of course, is mere guess- 
work. Nor does it, for that matter, exhaust 
the theories that have been advanced as ex- 
planatory of psychometry. Considered to- 
gether they bring into relief the ignorance 
yet prevailing with regard to it, even among 
savants who have most attentively studied 
the subject. 

42 



Bruce says "The one positive statement 
it seems justifiable to make is that psy- 
chometry itself is a fact — always remember- 
ing, to be sure, that not a few psychometric 
phenomena are reducible to non-occult 
origins, as in the instance cited by Charles 
Richet in his monumental work, 'Thirty 
Years of Psychical Research': Elizabeth 
Denton, looking at and touching a geo- 
logical specimen, was able to reconstruct 
the landscapes of the Silurian and Jurassic 
epochs. But one has to be very naive to 
be astonished at that. There is here only 
the result of a brilliant imagination on the 
part of a geologist." 

The Episode of the Bead Necklace. 

One of the most interesting experiences 
I have ever had with psychometry occurred 
a year or more ago, when a lady, residing 
in New Mexico, sent me a necklace of 
beads, requesting, as a great favor, that I 
would hold them in my hands, and give 
her my impressions. 

Her letter, in itself, carried a silent, hid- 
den cry that stirred my profoundest sym- 
pathy. And so I held her beads, and 
dictated my impressions to my secretary. 

I " sensed " this woman as a widow, 
43 



recently bereaved of a well-loved husband. 
Her financial affairs were in a desperate 
state, altho I was certain that they would 
shortly untangle themselves, because of 
the discovery of certain papers showing a 
heavy interest in certain mining proper- 
ties — interests which would shortly be a 
source of rich income to her. 

I also predicted that she would remarry 
inside of eighteen months. Only the other 
day I received her wedding announcement 
card, together with a delightful little note, 
telling me how happy she was, and de- 
luging me with a world of thanks for the 
message of cheer and hope, that seemed so 
impossible at the time, and yet that gave 
her the courage to "carry on" despite the 
dark clouds of sorrow and adversity under 
which she struggled at the time. 

Letters Carry Even More of the 
Intangible Psychometric Essence 

There seems to be, so far as I, personally 
am concerned, even more of this peculiar 
personal essence in a letter sent me than 
there is in a trinket, token, or garment 
owned or worn by the individual for whom 
I am trying to get a psychic message. 

44 



In thousands of instances I have, by God's 
grace, been instrumental in bringing help 
and comfort to those plagued by haunting 
doubts, beset by fears, or struggling to keep 
the path that is so narrow and so diffi- 
cult for tender feet and un-knowledged 
minds. 

It is a source of deep satisfaction and 
lasting joy to me to be the humble instru- 
ment by which hope and courage once more 
entered hearts quite overwhelmed by a 
heavy burden of sadness and care. 

On the other hand, I have often been 
forced to be the messenger of black tid- 
ings — of messages that spelled death and 
disaster. 

Yet I cannot but feel that a forewarning 
of even the most murky news may help 
to break the acute shock of the unheralded 
and the totally unexpected, and afford that 
surcease from pain which comes from be- 
ing spiritually braced against the shock. 

And in all this, remember, I do not 
claim to be invariably correct. As I be- 
lieve I have stated elsewhere, the percent- 
age of correct previsions is 85%. So, if I 
should predict evil for you there is a 15% 
chance that I may, after all, be wrong. 

However, be that as it may, there is 

45 



such a preponderance of accuracy in these 
messages as to cause them to be regarded 
by eminent investigators as among the most 
interesting psychic phenomona of modern 
times. 



46 



CHAPTER III. 

Does My Work Prove That The 
Dead Still Live? 

In my time I have seen every form of 
mediumship — including slate writing, ma- 
terializations, clairaudience, clairvoyance, 
and practically every variety of communi- 
cation purporting to be received from 
spirits. 

I have, time and again, in the broad 
light of my own apartment in New York, 
or in my room in various hotels through- 
out the country, seen human forms, as 
tangible and material as though these peo- 
ple were present in the body — which, indeed, 
I always thought at first they were. 

I am free to confess that they scared 
me nearly to death — and do yet. For I 
never seem to be able to get used to these 
startling visions, that appear with such sud- 
denness in locked rooms, and, without ap- 

47 



parent rhyme or reason, disappear quite 
as precipitately. 

I am familiar with the literature on the 
subject — having read most of the outstand- 
ing reports of the English Society of Psychi- 
cal Research, as well as the writings of 
Lombroso, Richet, Schrenk-Notzing, Car- 
rington, Lodge, Crooks, and many other 
writers on and investigators of psychic phe- 
nomena. 

My public work has brought me in inti- 
mate contact with magicians and wonder- 
workers of every conceivable kind, many of 
whom seem to be able to duplicate the 
phenomena ordinarily ascribed to spirit 
manifestation. 

I know that their phenomena are pro- 
duced by skillful trickery, or by apparatus 
cunningly devised to produce wonderful 
realistic illusions. 

I am also familiar with the phenomena 
of hallucination, and I know how dramatic 
and life-like some of these visual and audi- 
tory impressions may be, under certain 
conditions of subconscious activity. 

Telepathy and Autosuggestion 

I, personally, am convinced that the great 
majority of the messages I get, and which 

48 



I answer with such startling assurance and 
accuracy, are of telepathic origin. 

In other words, I believe I am able to 
tell, often with an uncanny degree of pre- 
science, things known to the subconscious 
mind of my subject or inquirer, which 
facts may, however, be totally unknown 
to his object mind. For instance, I can 
tell whether a piece of jewelry or a valu- 
able paper has been lost, or whether it has 
been stolen. In most instances, I believe 
that this is because the subconscious mind 
of the individual has absolute knowledge 
as to whether or not the article has been 
lost. 

If it had been misplaced, or if, as in the 
case of Mrs. Griffith, detailed elsewhere 
in these chapters, the valuables were hidden 
during a somnambulistic attack, the sub- 
conscious mind of the subject would have 
full knowledge of this fact. This knowl- 
edge would be as open to me as though 
it were printed in letters a foot high. 

On the contrary, supposing the articles 
were stolen, and then the proper rapport 
was established between me and the one 
who lost the article. It is safe to assume 
that no living soul, except the thief him- 
self, would know the facts in connection 

49 



with the disappearance of the valuables, 
or know definitely the facts in connection 
with their disposition. 

I am aware that many psychologists 
would say that as long as the thief him- 
self is alive, that it may be possible for 
me to come into contact with his sub- 
conscious mind, describe his personal ap- 
pearance, tell how and when he filched 
these valuables, and what he subsequently 
did with them. 

This may be scientific. But it seems 
to me very much more difficult to believe 
than that, if decarnate intelligences have 
continued existence, and if they are still 
interested in the things of this earth, that 
some spirit or intelligence interested in 
the one who has sustained this loss might 
have observed the theft, noted the appear- 
ance of the thief, and the disposition 
made of the valuables, and, at the proper 
time, communicated this information to 
the loved one through some medium thru 
whom they could focus this communica- 
tion. 

This would seem to be particularly true 
in two cases of which I have knowledge. 
For in these cases the thief himself had 
been killed shortly after disposing of the 



valuables he had pilfered, and so far as 
any living human being knew, there was no 
evidence that any one was aware as to 
when he had committed the theft, or what 
he had done with the stolen valuables. 

I was, however, able to point out that 
these valuables were hidden in a certain 
place, from which place they were sub- 
sequently recovered. 

Who Is This Information From? 

I have, in innumerable instances, given 
inquirers information in connection with 
matters concerning which they themselves 
knew nothing at all. In point of fact, in 
several instances I recall they could not 
possibly have had knowledge of these mat- 
ters, because the information given was 
in connection with incidents that had oc- 
curred before their birth. No living soul, 
so far as I know, knew of these incidents. 
Yet, the points involved were subsequently 
checked up and corroborated by reference 
to old diaries and papers referred to in 
the message purporting to come from some 
long dead relative of the inquirer. 

We know that the Society for Psychical 
Research has collated records covering many 

51 



cases in which information was given 
through some medium, or in other ways, 
which information detailed facts that could 
not have been in the mind of any living 
individual. 

If I recall rightly, Professor Hyslop re- 
ported such a case, in which the spirit of 
a Continental soldier manifested itself 
through a medium, giving his name, the 
place of his birth and death, and even the 
location of his grave, all of which facts 
were subsequently verified by records of 
which he referred. 

The outstanding and striking feature of 
this communication lay in the fact that 
the soldier told of buried treasure, giving 
the location of the treasure so accurately 
that searchers were able to unearth the 
box containing this hoard. Unfortunately 
the soldier did not seem to know that the 
Continental money, to which he referred, 
was valueless in this age, and also that 
what he thought was of value had long since 
crumbled into ashes. 

However, certain trinkets which he de- 
scribed, and many coins, were still intact, 
and corroborated the accuracy of his mes- 
sage. 

52) 



Messages From the Dead. 

In hundreds and hundreds of instances 
I get definite and distinct messages from 
those who say they are dead, or rather, 
have passed on to the next plane of exist- 
ence. Very frequently this information 
comes to the inquirer as a distinct shock, 
as they did not have the slightest idea that 
the party for whom they were inquiring 
had "passed over." 

I had such an experience only a few 
weeks ago, in a New York theatre, in which 
I told a mother that her little daughter 
had been killed but a few hours before, 
and that the body of the child would be 
found in a certain place, where it was cast 
by the automobile truck that accidentally 
killed her. 

The mother was carried from the theatre 
in a swoon. Subsequent investigation, how- 
ever, proved the accuracy of my message 
to her, which purported to come from her 
dead daughter. In this instance, no living 
soul, so far as it is known, was aware 
of the accident to the girl. The drivers 
of the truck themselves did not know of 
having accidentally hit the child while driv- 
ing through a lonely country road in the 
semi-darkness. 53 



I could enumerate hundreds of instances 
of just this character, which would seem 
to furnish conclusive proof of the continu- 
ity of life after death, and of the fact 
that under certain conditions, spirits may 
communicate information of which they 
alone seem to be possessed. 

And even yet I am not wholly convinced. 
There may be some other explanation for 
these phenomena. Possibly a thought might 
have been thrown out by the person just 
before his death, which thought might still 
persist — to be perceived by myself, or by 
some other sensitive. 

The evidence, however, seems to be all 
in favor of the belief in spirit persistence. 
It seems to prove that those we call dead 
still live, still have our interests at heart, 
and still may communicate with us on 
matters of seeming importance. 

In any event, however, of one thing I 
am fully convinced. And this is, that if 
continued existence is ever to be proved, 
if we are ever to have definite knowledge 
of a life beyond the grave, there is only one 
way in which this knowledge can come — 
clear and convincing. And this is by col- 
lating definitely tangible messages from 
those who have departed this life, messages 

54 



dealing with matters concerning which no 
living being can possibly have any knowl- 
edge. 

And this, I take particular pride in 
saying, I myself seem to have been able 
to do. 



55 



CHAPTER IV. 

Disclosing Your Hidden Diseases. 

In my twenty-five odd years of experi- 
ence as a psychic, appearing before public 
audiences in every part of the English 
speaking world, I have disclosed one faculty 
which, while not unique, seems unquestion- 
ably to offer scientific minds a very difficult 
problem for solution. 

This has to deal with the faculty of 
diagnosing hidden diseases, and obscure 
pathological lesions, many of which require 
surgical operation before they can be rem- 
edied. 

Not Necessary to Come in Personal 
Contact With the Subject. 

In thousands and thousands of instances, 
I have told inquirers, who sent their un- 
spoken thought to me, that they were in 
serious trouble, and should, without loss 

56 



of time, see a capable physician for ex- 
amination and treatment. 

Many of these people had tuberculosis, 
entirely unsuspected by them, or diabetes, 
Bright's disease, or some insidious menac- 
ing disorders which, if neglected, would in- 
evitably tend to shorten their lives. 

Perhaps the strangest part of this is that 
it does not seem necessary for me to come 
into immediate contact with these people. 
In countless hundreds of instances a mes- 
sage, clear and definite, would be given 
some inquirer on behalf of a third person, 
in whom he was interested — his mother, 
father, or even some relative living in a 
distant land. 

Times innumerable I have been able to 
diagnose the condition of an individual who 
sent me an inquiry by letter — coming in 
contact with the peculiar condition that 
affected him through the psychometry, or 
whatever it may be called, that enables 
the subconscious mind to perceive the ra- 
diations or vibrations of some inanimate 
subject, as, for instance, a sheet of letter 
paper which has been in the possession of 
or been handled by some individual, and 

57 



thereby tell the characteristics or the physi- 
cal deficiencies of this individual. 

If Any Definite Symptom Is Present, 
I Seem to Take It On. 

In the case of headaches, neuralgia, neu- 
ritis, rheumatism, sciatica, or acutely pain- 
ful disorders, I seem to take on a simili- 
tude of the identical pain that is causing 
this trouble, sometimes to such an extent 
as to be peculiarly trying to my nervous 
system. 

If the condition is due to tuberculosis, 
or any wasting disorder, or if it is a 
disorder accompanied by excessive weak- 
ness, I seem to take on this condition also. 
If there is a feeling of oppression, difficulty 
in breathing, or if there is any mental 
condition of an aberrant nature, it seems 
to come to me, and overwhelm my organ- 
ism just as though I were the patient or 
the subject for whom the inquiry was 
made. 

In point of fact, so oppressive and de- 
pressing are these influences to me that I 
must, in pure self-defense, often refuse 
to answer inquiries from numbers of people 
in the audience to whom these questions 
are necessarily uppermost. 

58 



What Is This Faculty? 

There have been many famous psychics, 
and many famous physicians, who have 
achieved a wonderful degree of reputation 
by their ability to accurately diagnose dis- 
eases or conditions apparently undiscover- 
able by eminent medical men. 

Many of these "spiritual healers" are 
practicing physicians, treating great num- 
bers of people every week, and employing 
their wonderful skill in diagnosis and prac- 
tice largely by reason of the fact that they 
seem to be possessed of an unearthly power 
of accuracy in diagnosing and prescribing 
for their patients. 

One of the best known of these lived 
in New York until a few years ago. His 
waiting rooms were crowded at all times, 
and the list of cures this man made, after 
other physicians had piled failure upon 
failure, were the marvel of the community. 

I have repeatedly discussed the ques- 
tion of this man's marvelous power of 
diagnosis and his cures, not only with him- 
self, but with many of his patients, and 
have been struck by the soundness and 
reasonableness of his arguments. 

This doctor claimed to have been guided 
59 



in his work by two familiar spirits, one of 
the spirit of an Indian medicine man, who 
had passed over some hundred or more 
years ago, the other the spirit of a famous 
French physician who, while he died in 187O 
or thereabouts, seemed to have kept abreast 
of the modern trend of thought in medical 
discovery, and to have been familiar with 
many of the facts in connection with 
modern medical practice. 

So this old physician prescribed herbs 
and botanical remedies, or modern alka- 
loids of a high degree of potency, as the 
diagnosis of the patient seemed to warrant. 

I am informed that the old doctor would 
lapse into a semi-somnolent condition, half 
unconscious of his surroundings, partially 
closing his eyes, as though seeing things 
with his inner mind, or with his inner eyes 
only. 

The X-Ray Eye. 

He would then describe, for instance, a 
growth, such as a tumor or a cancer, out- 
lining exactly the position in the body, or 
in the organ affected, telling the character- 
istics of the growth, and whether or whether 
not, in his opinion, it could be operated, 
or removed or possibly relieved by medi- 

60 



cine— which he accomplished in very many 
instances. 

He would be able to diagnose tubercu- 
lar lesions and cavities in the lungs, out- 
lining their location, and the degree of in- 
volvement almost as though he were look- 
ing in at the lungs through a fluoroscope. 

Indeed, this man's power of discernment 
and vision was quite as accurate as that 
of the most up-to-date X-ray. This was 
proved by the fact that his diagnoses were 
subsequently confirmed by eminent special- 
ists who, when the egg was stood on end, 
would very readily describe its appearance, 
and state why it maintained its upright 
position. 

Spirit or Unconscious Mind. 

In regard to my own faculty for diagnos- 
ing, it seems rather clear to me that the 
matter is one of the activity of my own 
subconscious mind. This activity is mani- 
fested when I am brought in touch with 
the subject, or with some material agency 
intimately connected with the subject — as, 
for instance, a letter that he has written, 
or a distinct message transmitted to me by 
one in whom he is greatly interested, and 
who is greatly interested in him. I am 

61 



convinced that every physician, especially 
after he has been in practice for a number 
of years, develops this sixth sense to an 
extraordinary degree of acuity. 

Indeed, I am informed that many old 
physicians, grown gray in baffling death, and 
in battling for the life of patients des- 
perately ill are able to walk through the 
wards of a hospital, and with unerring 
accuracy, point out to their students the 
sufferers from heart disease, the patients 
afflicted with typhoid, the man or woman 
developing Bright's, the case of impend- 
ing coma, the cerebral hemorrhage victim 
and so on, almost as far away as he can 
see them. 

This may be merely an interpretation 
of those almost undefinable traces of ex- 
pression that appear on the face, the anxi- 
ous lines of the heart disease victim, the 
puffiness under the eyes of the Bright's 
disease case, the rather optimistic coun- 
tenance of the tubercular patient, etc. 

Yet, I think there is something even 
deeper than this — some telepathic impres- 
sion that comes to the mind of the old 
doctor from the mind of the sufferer, tell- 
ing him with uncanny prescience just what 
the condition is. 

m 



I do not mean by this to imply that 
there may not be intelligence emanating 
from decarnate spirits, able, from their 
peculiar dimention, to look through the 
body as though it were no longer clothed 
with the outside flesh and muscle, and see 
exactly what the condition of the inner 
organs might be. 

Indeed, that spirits can return to this 
earth and manifest themselves, seems, the 
more and more I study the matter to be 
not only possible, but highly probable. I can 
conceive of no better way in which they 
can express their activity than in helping 
overcome disease, or to hold back the grizzly 
hand of death for yet a while, from those 
who appeal to this physical force for aid 
in their extremity. 

My Powers Probably Expressions of 
The Subconscious. 

However, my personal powers seem to 
be confined to diagnoses. I seem to be 
able to diagnose with marvellous precision 
conditions which are not yet apparent to 
the objective mind of the individual, but 
which may be definitely known to his sub- 

08 



conscious mind, and which may be merely 
awaiting an opportunity to break through 
the surface of his thought. I believe that 
my subconscious mind comes in contact 
with his at the time, and brings above the 
threshold of his consciousness the recogni- 
tion of some diseased process which threat- 
ens his welfare or even his life. 

If I were a medium through whom some 
great diagnostician, now in spirit life, man- 
ifested himself, it would seem only natural 
that a very definite method of treatment 
or a system of medication, or diet, or other 
medical direction, would be suggested, which 
might materially help this subject on his 
road to recovery. 

This, however, I do not seem to be 
able to do; my powers seem to stop with 
merely being able to state wherein the phys- 
ical failure lies, and its probable cause. 

But this in itself has proved of incalcul- 
able service, and probably has saved the 
lives of many hundreds of inquirers who 
never would have known the danger that 
threatened them, were it not for the fact 
that something in me responded to the 
something in them that knew they were 
threatened, and made it possible for them 

64 





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to take steps to overcome the thing that 
threatened. 

This ability to diagnose hidden disorders 
is of wonderful interest, not only for the 
good that can be accomplished by utiliz- 
ing it, but also for its definite scientific 
value in elucidating profound questions 
in psychical research. 

For it deals with condition definitely de- 
termined by expert medical counsel, aided 
by the analyses of the chemical labora- 
tory, or the biologist's report on blood or 
other body fluid examination, and cam be 
checked up with absolute accuracy by any 
scientifically trained person who will under- 
take to follow the problem to its ultimate 
conclusion. 

There is no half-way ground. There 
is no guesswork. Either the patient whom 
I say is suffering from diabetes, Blight's, 
tuberculosis, or cancer, has diabetes, 
Blight's, tuberculosis, or cancer, or he has 
not. It is not a matter of guess work; 
it is not a matter of theory. It is a ques- 
tion of fact, as simple as the multipKca- 
cation table; and I am glad indeed that 
scientists are undertaking to look into amd 
check up this phenomenon in me, that 
opens up the door to a possibility ib great 

65 



as to be almost immeasurable, and to 
point the way to a source of health that 
will vastly extend the length of human life, 
and markedly increase the sum total of 
human happiness. 



66 



CHAPTER V. 

A Few Instances of Fulfilled 
Predictions. 

I was not more than seven years of age 
when I just became aware of the weird 
power of prediction that I possess. I have 
already told you how I predicted the totally 
unexpected results of the horse race in 
which my grandfather's horse dropped dead 
— and the very spot in which he fell. 

This was perhaps the first of thousands 
upon thousands of instances in which I 
foretold, with almost uncanny accuracy 
of detail, conditions that were develop- 
ing, and events that were shortly to trans- 
pire. 

In my public performances for many 
years past, I give as many as fifty mes- 
sages, to as many different people — mes- 
sages dealing with every variety of subject, 
from death to divorce, from births to bur- 
glaries. 

67 



The interest in this work is almost un- 
believable. When, for instance, the London 
Daily Mail announced that I would answer 
questions of real vital interest to their 
readers, upwards of 40,000 letters were 
poured into the Daily Mail office. 

When my husband, who assists me in 
my act, makes his way up the aisles of 
the theatres in which we are giving our per- 
formance, his clothes are all but torn from 
him by those anxious to be recognized for 
a message. 

At some of my performances "for women 
only" I have answered upwards of six hun- 
dred women in an audience of a couple 
of thousand, in some matters vitally affect- 
ing their happiness. 

Women chiefly want to know "Will I 
marry, and when?" "Will I have a baby, 
and will I come safely through my ex- 
perience?" "Does my husband love me, 
and is he true to me?" "Will I get my di- 
vorce, and will I re-marry" and "Will my 
husband succeed in business?" 

I believe I can safely say that I have 
brought strength, hope and happiness to 
thousands of women, in every part of the 
country, who, I am proud to say, look upon 
me with genuine affection. 



In thousands of instances the answer to 
the question thought of by the subject with 
whom for the moment I am en rapport is 
of such an intimate and delicate nature 
that I ask them to send me their name 
and address, upon receipt of which I write 
them personally, giving them the informa- 
tion I get for them either from their sub- 
conscious mind, or from the spirit of some 
one near and dear to him, who has their 
welfare at heart. 

Very often I am asked by Secret Service 
and other officials to help them in solving 
some murder or other crime, or in locating 
stolen valuables. 

Quite frequently I am able to describe 
the murderer to them, or tell him who com- 
mitted a certain crime and where he can 
be found. Several criminals have been 
convicted and are now serving terms on 
evidence which I was instrumental in se- 
curing. 

These relations with the officers of the 
law, however, are confidential, and must 
not be here disclosed. 

What Dr. Hudson Thinks. 

In this connection — although emphasiz- 
ing the fact that I am a psychic, and not 

69 



a medium — I should like to have you note 
what Dr. Thomas Jay Hudson, in his "Law 
of Psychic Phenomena" has said concern- 
ing the possibility of spirit communica- 
tion. 

Dr. Hudson says: "The percipient sees 
a vision representing the incident sought 
to be communicated by the agent. He sees 
the object or person which the agent de- 
sires him to see. Thus, when a person 
consults a medium he generally expects and 
desires to learn something of his deceased 
friends. The medium goes into the sub- 
jective condition for that purpose. The 
visitor's mind is full of anticipation and 
hope that he will be put into direct com- 
munication with the loved and lost. 

"Presently the medium sees a vision of 
some person. He believes that he sees a 
spirit. He describes it, and it is found to 
correspond with one of the visitor's deceased 
friends. The visitor recognizes the descrip- 
tion, and says so. He asks for the name 
and the medium gives it. Then the medium 
sees a vision representing some incident 
known only to the visitor and the deceased. 
He describes the incident, not, perhaps, as 
a vision that he sees, but as a statement 
of fact imparted to him by the spirit. 

70 



The visitor very likely knows that the me- 
dium knew nothing of him or of the de- 
ceased before that hour. He is convinced 
that the medium has seen and converse4 
with the spirit of his dead friend, and he is 
a convert of spiritism from that moment. 
Now, has the medium actually seen a spirit, 
or has he merely read the sitter's subjective 
mind?" 

Again Dr. Hudson says: "When we 
consider how little we retain, in our ob- 
jective recollection, of what we have seen, 
heard, or read, we may well wonder that 
it does not oftener happen that so-called 
spirits, tell us of circumstances which we 
do not remember. On the whole it may 
be safely assumed that no medium has 
ever yet been able to impart any informa- 
tion that is not known either to the medium 
or to some living person with whom he 
is en rapport." 

What I Think. 

With these conclusions of Dr. Hudson 
I wish to take emphatic exception. As I 
have detailed elsewhere in these pages, I 
hold no brief for a belief in spiritism. How- 
ever, I do know that I have seen thou- 
sands of phantoms. I have described spirits 

71 



totally unknown to my subject, but later 
identified by some other relative as one 
connected by ties of family or friendship 
with the person to whom I am bringing a 
message. 

I have seen and experienced enough to 
know, absolutely, that those who are dear 
to us still live, and that we shall see 
them and be with them again. 

I have brought positive proof of this to 
hundreds and hundreds of people. And 
if my work did not have another thing to 
commend it, this service alone would make 
it thoroughly worth while. This is what 
I think. 

A Few Things I Have Foretold. 

And now I want to tell you about a few 
of the things I have foretold. For the veil 
which hangs between the present and the 
future, hiding from the eyes of all the 
knowledge of the things that are to happen 
to them, is drawn back for my eyes to 
see and for my tongue to speak about. 

In the year nineteen hundred and twelve 
I saw the great countries of Europe engaged 
in a dreadful war, and I saw that it would 
have its beginning within two years after 

72 



that time, and that it would last throughout 
four more years thereafter. I told the 
people of America and they remember my 
words to this day. 

During the time of the Great War I 
foresaw and foretold many of the things 
that would happen, and when these things 
happened even as I had said they would, 
the Government of America requested that 
I should speak no more about these things 
because it was said, they gave "information" 
publicly that was not well to be spoken 
abroad. 

On January 2, 192 1, I was to locate the 
freighter "Hewitt", which sailed from Ca- 
bian, Texas, with fifty-four souls aboard, 
and had been reported lost in a storm 
at sea. 

I told my enquirer that the boat was 
afloat, although the machinery and the wire- 
less had broken down, and that the crew 
were safe. The next morning the informa- 
tion I gave was proved to be correct, as 
the "Hewitt" had been spoken by a passing 
steamer, and subsequently made port under 
her own steam. 

I have frequently made correct prognos- 
tications on the results of elections, horse- 
races, ball games, and other athletic events. 



I rarely volunteer this information, how- 
ever, as I am correct only about 85% of the 
time, and I do not wish to cause anyone 
loss by possibly giving incorrect informa- 
tion. 

The Case of the Lost Key Ring. 

A most interesting case from a stand- 
point of psychical research — altho rather 
trivial as regards the value of the article 
sought, occurred at the Majestic Theatre, 
Ashtabula, Ohio, where I was playing. 

A Mr. William B runner, of Jefferson, 
Ohio, had lost his key ring. From the 
audience that night he asked me mentally, 
"Will I ever find my keys?" 

I told him to go to the place where he 
had been hunting, to locate a group of 
trees on a knoll near a strip of woods, and 
that he would find his keys. On the fol- 
lowing afternoon, in company with H. R. 
Webster, Will Hodge and Will Cox, Mr. 
Brunner went to Richmond, O., thence to 
the Ed Inman farm, and following the di- 
rection I gave him, the keys were found 
by Mr. Cox. My prediction came true, even 
to the distance from Mr. Brunner's home, 
at which the keys were lost, 22j4 miles. 

While playing at the Palace Theatre, 
Olean, N. Y. I was asked by A. W. Root, 

74 



manager of the theatre, if I could help his 
wife locate a silver fox neckpiece that had 
been missing for several months. "Did you 
look under the travelling trunk in your at- 
tic?" I asked. Mr. Root said she had not 
done so. I then suggested that she look. 
Mrs. Root followed my instructions and 
found the neckpiece which had fallen from 
her hand when she had been ordering a 
servant to arrange the trunks. The fur had 
been hidden from view and had not been 
missed until later, and it was thought that 
it had been stolen. 

Here is another rather interesting ex- 
perience. Some months ago, Dom. De- 
vaney of 1477 Lake Avenue, Rochester, 
N. Y., lost a wallet containing some money, 
a watch and a promissory note for $300. 
He asked me in a local theatre if I could 
find his property for him. I told him that 
the watch had been pawned, the money 
spent by the finder, but that he would 
find the watch in a pawnshop owned by a 
man whose first name was Joseph. De- 
vaney examined pawnshop lists in Roches- 
ter, Syracuse, Batavia and Buffalo, and 
wrote to two pawnbrokers whose first names 
were Joseph. Thru this means the watch 

75 



was found and restored. The finder, how- 
ever, was never apprehended. 

A Few Pertinent Letters. 

Mr. C. W. McMoran, international news- 
paper writer of 480 Pine St. San Francisco 
has written me: "You called my name 
correctly, read my thought and answered 
a mental question for me at your perfor- 
mance on Tuesday afternoon at the Or- 
pheum. The question was a business one, 
the outcome of a huge transaction was to 
be known to me on Friday. You accurately 
described in detail the occurrence of this 
important meeting two days before it was 
known by anyone. You are, in my opinion 
the most skilled and able exponent in the 
psychic powers I have ever met. 

Mr. Samuel Rosenberg, Mivranowska 34, 
Warsaw, Hias, Poland, writes: "Arrived 
home from America and found my mother 
alive, but in bad health. Also verified your 
words that my brother was in spirit — sent 
there serving in the Russian army." 

Mr. P. Hann, Gansolaadte, Bechnanaland, 
S. Africa, "Your solution of the farm ques- 
tion was very discouraging. We did not 
take your invaluable advice and lost every- 

76 



thing. We might have saved a part of our 
life's savings had we dropped the litigation 
as you told us to. "We lost." 

Mr. E. E. Leslie, N. Bengal, Kalchini, 
India. "I have spent the allotted 14 years 
in India, and will be returning home late 
next year (1922). Sending you tea from 
my garden and would love to repay you for 
your valued information. Every word you 
told me has come true." 

L. W. Lirkie, Bau, Orang. Selangor, F. 
M. S. "It seems impossible that merely 
from having only a few lines and a piece 
of jungle grass you could so accurately tell 
things. Your description of me is better 
than I could give myself. You are posi- 
tively right about the psychic pheon and I 
have feared to admit it to even myself." 

Dora Bloom, 371 Queens Rd., London, 
"Accept my thanks for the message. Every- 
thing was correct. My husband is dead, 
etc. I will do as you say, Aug. i'20. Feb. 
10*23. The good things that you predicted 
for me seemed impossible. But they are 
coming fast, and accurate even to the 
month. You were correct about my hap- 
piness and freedom from further privation," 

Mrs. Kavanagh, B. M. Douglas, Isle of 
7.7 



Man. "Absolute information about the 
man who robbed me. I am astounded." 

I. G. Thomas, 144 Crown St., Liverpool, 
Eng. "I asked you to call a number for me 
during your performance last night. You 
called one, and I used it to play on a lottery. 
My sole possession last night was twelve 
pawn tickets. Tonight I have no pawn 
tickets and can start for my own country. 
God bless you, and tell you when to use 
your powerful gift." 

Isaac Joseph, 9 Enfield Grove, Leeds, 
England a 12 year old boy was to be taken 
to the hospital to have both his legs re- 
moved. He fell at the age of two, and 
never walked after. Legs were just un- 
developed sticks, hanging like lead. His 
father brought him to see me. I said 
"Please do not have this done. I see this 
child first on crutches, and then with but 
one stick. Give my judgment only three 
months and try once more to have his 
legs straightened". This was in July 1920. 
A letter signed by little Isaac came May 
6, 1923 saying, "I never stop thinking of 
you and in my sleep I see you always. 
I can walk and will soon earn money." 

David Christine— "Misty Law" the Glas- 
gow Prophet — "You are wonderful. Every 

78 



thing you have told me has happened. The 
tests I gave you came out perfectly. You 
had no way to know that I had the solu- 
tion beforehand, yet you were correct in 
even the smallest detail." 

Mrs. M. Campbell, Glasgow, 47 Delburn 
St., "You were entirely right about the 
hair on my lip. I had it removed against 
your advice, and just as you said you saw 
me, so I am. Now my dear Princess tell 
me what to do." 

Frank E. Clark, Birmingham, Eng. High- 
bury Hospital. "I am up for another 
operation and am sorry that I did not have 
more confidence. You seem to know. The 
doctor says it will be a matter of a few 
months before I can leave, just as you said, 
altho I was all ready to leave two days 
after I had your public demonstration from 
the stage of the Grand Theatre of Varieties. 

Telepathy Over the Telephone 

Perhaps one of the most interesting tests 
I give from time to time is a telepathic 
reading over the phone. This feat never 
fails to excite the wonder of all who are 
present at the time. 

The technic of this performance is illus- 
19 



trated by the following incident reprinted 
from the Miami Herald of March 30, 1923, 
which is only one out of at least a dozen 
similar experiences. To bring out the 
matter more in detail I shall take the 
liberty of quoting the entire article. 

Manager of Fairfax Tests Mindreader 
By Telephone. 

Indian Seeress Transmits Article from 

Newspaper While Group Check 

Her Work. 

"Princess Wah-let-ka, Indian seeress, who 
has interested large houses at the Fair- 
fax theatre, where she is the headliner on 
the vaudeville program this week, last 
night held a large audience spellbound with 
wonder at her amazing ability to read one's 
mind during the 25 minutes of her act. 

"When Princess Wah-let-ka arrived at 
her hotel at the conclusion of the act, she 
submitted to a unique test, which was con- 
ducted over the telephone. 

"Princess Wah-let-ka was informed (by 
telephone) that an article had been selected 
from a newspaper and that all of the half 
dozen present in Manager Joe Adams office 
at the Fairfax were concentrating on the 
article. She, too, concentrated for a few 

80 



moments, and then read the story word 
for word over the wire to her hearers with- 
out error. 

It was a remarkable test of telepathy- 
demonstrated forcefully and in a rapid ac- 
curate manner, which left little doubt in 
minds of her auditors as to her power and 
ability of concentration and the graphic, 
vividness of her mind in receiving so quick- 
ly the thoughts of others. 

"In her act at the Fairfax last night 
Princess Wah-let-ka astounded the audi- 
ence with her mental feats. She told the 
audience names of persons in the audience, 
and answered in minutest detail the mul- 
titude of questions asked her. The sur- 
prising part of the entire exhibition was 
the swiftness and clarity of her method. 
Never once did she falter, nor did any 
question feaze her calm composed manner. 
With a directness that was surprising even 
for an act of its kind, Princess Wah-let-ka, 
as soon as the question was put, and some- 
times before her assistant had asked it, 
had begun her clear, quick answer. Those 
in the audience who had occasion to ask 
questions were amazed at her ability to 
answer in such detail the difficult questions 
they asked." 

81 



I trust I have said enough in this chap- 
ter to convince even the most skeptical 
that a stubborn disbelief in psychic phe- 
nomena in this age of miracles, is no evi- 
dence of unusual intelligence as many 
seem inclined to think. 

On the contrary, it may be definite evi- 
dence of a lack of open-mindedness and a 
spirit of intellectual fairness, tho a con- 
fession of glaring unfamiliarity with many 
of the most generally accepted facts in 
modern psychic research, as well as with 
the voluminous and convincing evidence 
that has been gathered by men and women 
of unquestioned credibility on these sub- 
jects. 

Keep an open mind, and the truth will 
come to you. And "the truth will set you 
free." 



82 



CHAPTER VI. 

In Every Person There is Something 
of the Psychic, 

There is hardly a normal person in the 
world who does not, at times, receive im- 
pressions in ways that are apparently out- 
side of the usual means of communicat- 
ing impressions. 

For instance, you yourself, no doubt, 
have often, while sitting quietly reading 
or sewing, felt distinctly the presence of 
someone in the room. The feeling that 
someone had entered was so strong that 
involuntarily you were impelled to turn 
around and look. 

And there, back of you, would be some- 
one who had entered as silently as a 
spectre. 

Again, you have often felt the gaze of 
someone looking intently at you, and turn- 
ed, to find his eyes fastened on you. 

S3 



How often have you been conscious of 
the fact that you would shortly meet some- 
one you knew, yet, of whose presence in 
the city you had not yet been informed. 

Also, there are any number of men and 
women who know when they meet a person 
for the first time, whether or not this 
individual is to be trusted. Their first im- 
pression of this person is almost invariably 
the right one. If they refuse to accept 
this impression, and to act in accord- 
ance with their intuitive warning, they al- 
most invariably rue their obstinacy. 

Again, is it not the usual, rather than 
the unusual thing, for a mother to know 
instinctively that her beloved child — and 
her children are always boys and girls to 
her, even if they are 50 years of age — 
is ailing, or in danger, or perhaps dead? 

Almost every woman has known of times 
when she was aware of the contents of a 
letter or a telegram, even before receiving 
it — let alone opening it. 

Also, certain real estate operators, or 
speculators in various lines, know with al- 
most uncanny accuracy the possible fluc- 
tuation in value of a certain piece of real 
estate, or the trend of the stock market, 

etc. 

84 



Warnings of Danger. 

Then there have been almost countless 
instances of "previsions" of certain events 
or warnings of impending danger, the ob- 
serving of which has been the means of 
saving life, or preventing a fire, or flood, 
or serious accident, that might have resulted 
in death. 

Also, during the last War, there were 
any number of cases recorded where 
soldiers not only foretold their death, but 
also the manner in which they would be 
killed. 

All these are facts so well known and 
generally admitted that they permit of no 
argument. Their unusualness and their 
accuracy of detail prove the absurdity of 
ascribing them to mere guesswork or to 
coincidence. 

In fact, many of these warning messages 
come in the form of a voice, heard by the 
individual as distinctly as tho it were an 
actual human voice, uttering its warning 
cry. 

So impressive and so distinct are these 
warnings that men and women have can- 
celled at the last moment, their passage 
on ships that were subsequently lost or 

submarine-sunk. 

85 



They have stopped their locomotive, and ^ 
gone ahead — to find that a bridge they 
would have reached in a very few minutes 
had been carried away by a flood. 

They have rushed from a building, which, 
a few seconds later, collapsed with a crash. 

They have refused to drive a horse, 
which, within an hour, threw himself and 
the vehicle he was drawing, over a preci- 
pice. 

How We Could Put Our Intuition to 
Profitable Uses. 

We ascribe these things to intuition, and 
we talk glibly about the value of the in- 
tuitive faculty. Yet few of us ever make 
an effort to cultivate the gift. On the 
contrary, we scout and flout these warn- 
ings, until finally the still small voice, or 
the decarnate forces that are trying to help 
us with their warnings, become disgusted 
and quit. 

And here is the entire secret of the mat- 
ter. If only you would accept your intui- 
tive warnings or fore-shadowings, and act 
on them, they would become more and 
more developed by use. 

They were in my case. They have been 
86 



in the case of many people whom I have 
known. 

Just as with love, that grows by the thing 
it feeds upon, so with this marvellous and 
helpful faculty of prevision and intuition. 

If this faculty is merely an unusual qual- 
ity of your own subjective mind, the most 
certain of all possible ways to discourage 
its development would be to ignore it, and 
cast its fruit aside, as being of no value. 

For this mind, as you know, is extremely 
susceptible to suggestion. After being dis- 
credited a score or more times it loses 
confidence in itself. It ceases to function 
in this; unusual way. 

On the other hand, if these messages ac- 
tually come from the spirits of some of 
your loved ones who are trying to help or 
guide you, it can readily be understood that 
your persistent refusal to accept them, or 
to admit them to your consciousness, would 
finally result in their discontinuance. 

You know how it would be yourself, 
were you repeatedly to try to attract the 
attention of some one and to warn him, 
were he, again and again, totally to ignore 
you. 

Well, why should it not be just the same 
&7 



with a person who is active on the other 
side of the veil? 

They are probably just as sensitive as 
we are — perhaps more so. They probably 
respond to encouragement, just as they did 
when they were in the body. Perhaps 
they would come more and more often, 
if only they knew that they were welcome, 
and that the information they were so 
valiantly attempting to impart, was accept- 
able — and duly acted upon. 

So this is the long and short of the 
matter. To develop your psychical side 
is relatively easy. Exercise your psychical 
faculties. Give them a chance to grow. 
Listen to the admonishing voices — whether 
they emanate from your own subconscious 
mind, or whether they are messages from 
departed loved ones — who are sincerely 
trying to help you. 

This may take time. But it will be 
time well spent. And you and everyone 
who shares in your joys and sorrows will 
share in the benefits that will accrue to 
you by this wonderful development. 



88 



CHAPTER VII. 
Cultivating Some Hidden Forces. 

In this chapter I want to talk to you 
about one of the greatest of all wastes, waste 
of possible achievement, and tell you in a 
practical, common sense way, how you may 
overcome this defect. 

You know yourself that millions of peo- 
ple go through life occupying a position in 
the business or in the social world not one- 
third as high as that to which they are en- 
titled. 

Now, if one thing has ever been proved 
by psychology, it is that there exists in 
every one of us — except geniuses, who have 
it already — a capacity for achievement far 
beyond anything we ordinarily accomplish 
in our work-a-day life. It is this quality of 
soul that stimulates the keenness of vision, 
the accuracy of perception and memory, the 
falcon sweep towards perfection that sets 

89 



the genius apart from the remaining billions 
of us who are utilizing only a fraction of 
our potentialities. 

It is something of this grasp of concep- 
tion, this faculty of co-ordination, that con- 
stitutes the chief difference between the 
fifty-thousand-dollar-a-year executive and 
the fifty-dollar-a-week clerk — that makes, 
in brief, the difference between striking suc- 
cess and drab mediocrity. 

By the exercise of this force the weak 
may be made robust, the vacillating stead- 
fast, — creatures of habit made "captains 
of their soul." Resources far beyond the 
reach of our conscious faculties may be 
brought into play — even illiteracy and pov- 
erty made the stepping-stones to mental 
attainment and financial reward. 

By the application of this principle the 
creative faculty has been inspired in writers ; 
imagination in painters, poets and inven- 
tors; dramatic intensity and forceful ex- 
pression of the personality in actresses ; ab- 
solute control of the voice-making apparatus 
and of the emotions in singers. 

Preachers and lawyers have had the cor- 
relation between what they have read and 
studied, and what they are able to remem- 
ber and apply of this, doubled and trebled. 

90 



Musicians have gained a sureness of attack 
and the facility of execution over musical 
hurdles hitherto insurmountable to them. 

And those sore-tried have acquired a de- 
gree of fortitude, an exalted control, and 
a regenerating faculty under circumstances 
that might otherwise have left them crushed 
and spent. 

Many of the world's greatest scientists, 
whose bump of faith is as flat as a pancake, 
and who have no regard for anything on 
earth, except the truth, now believe that 
through operations, in harmony with well- 
established laws in psychology, it is pos- 
sible to tap reservoirs of force and healing 
and wisdom that will feed and strengthen 
the soul — or whatever it is that really ani- 
mates us — and put it to work in a definite 
constructive way. 

What Happens When You Sleep Over 
the Matter. 

One scientist who has, perhaps, gone as 
far along this road as any living man, is 
John Duncan Quackenbos, A. M., M. D., 
of New York, Professor Emeritus of Psy- 
chology in Columbia University. 

Dr. Quackenbos has had unusual oppor- 
91 



tunities for careful observation of the effects 
of certain manifestations of this power, 
which he calls "Sleep Inspiration," not only 
in the relief of nervous and functional con- 
ditions of the body, but also of those defects 
and warps of the mind that result in klep- 
tomania, habitual falsehood, the passion for 
gambling, moral anesthesia and perversion — 
as well as the handling of backward and 
incorrigible children, and the elicitation, 
stimulation and development of literary, 
musical, artistic and histrionic talent. 

We get little glimpses of the workings of 
this principle every once in a while in flash- 
es of intuition. But it is most commonly 
met within those experiences in which we are 
"shown the way", or in which our judg- 
ment is formed for us, after we have "slept 
over the matter." 

This is so frequent that many individuals 
will never undertake any new enterprise 
until they have considered the matter at 
least over the period of one night, for fear 
some vital phase of the subject might pos- 
sibly be overlooked. And this phase, or 
this idea, is, in the vast majority of in- 
stances, a most important one. 

But this is only one very limited appli- 
cation of soul-grasp — one small exhibition 

92 



of the really marvelous powers that lie 
latent in almost every human being. How- 
ever, the most significant thing about these 
powers is that they are susceptible of 
development by intensive soul-training — by 
a process which is nothing more or less 
than a form of auto-suggestion. 

Morgan Robertson, perhaps the greatest 
of all sea writers, who exemplified in his 
own life and achievements the truth of this 
power of suggestion and sleep-inspiration, 
has given us the best clue as to the means 
to be employed to elicit hidden faculties. 

"This 'phase of suggestion/ says Robert- 
son, "is the visible spectacular operation of 
a vast mind-state, extending from simple 
preoccupation through the stages of absent- 
mindedness, revery, stupidity, drousiness, 
somnambulism, sleep, stupor, or lethargy. 

"There is a mind-state," he continues, 
"between sleeping and waking, when the 
far-seeing powers of the subjective self may 
be projected through the working machine 
of the objective mind, the brain, and the 
thoughts evolved and the work performed 
will be of a superior quality to any that 
the working consciousness itself can pro- 
duce at its best. 

93 



When the Soul Shaped 
the Thought. 

Hundreds of instances are recorded as 
evidences of this observation. For instance, 
we remember that Coleridge awakened from 
sleep with the verses of "Kublai Kahn" 
full-born. Stevenson, by practicing auto- 
suggestion before going to sleep, obtained 
material for some of his most impressive 
romances. Kipling, in revery, framed many 
of his wonderfully realistic narratives. Wag- 
ner heard, through the ears of the soul, 
melodies that are world-acknowledged for 
their fulness and grandeur of conception. 

Sir Walter Scott, even while prostrated 
with illness, dictated most of his "Bride 
of Lammermoor." And it was under men- 
tal inspiration of an exalted character that 
he wrote the "Legend of Montrose," and 
most of "Ivanhoe." 

Henry Ward Beecher, Dr. Minot Savage, 
and other intellectuals, also found this pe- 
culiar "uprush from the subliminal depths" 
to be of incalculable value to them in their 
work; while many inventors have to thank 
this clarifying influence of subconscious 
activity for the fame and fortune which 
inspiration has brought to them. 

94 



This strange state of being 

"Still to be 

Senseless to feel 

And with sealed eyes to see." 

as Byron termed it, is inherent in humanity, 
and can be cultivated by applying the 
proper methods. 

Dr. Quackenbos, who exemplifies in his 
own work, the possibilities of its develop- 
ment, has, in his intensely interesting book 
"Body and Spirit," outlined the methods 
he pursues. 

The method is so simple that if only 
you will seriously follow out the exercises, 
it is certain that you can in time duplicate 
the results. 

First, however, recall again the fact that 
we possess two minds — the objective, that 
part of our consciousness which receives 
all impressions through the avenues of 
sight, sound, taste, smell, and touch; and 
the subconscious, or unconscious, which 
translates all these sensations into terms 
of experience; which is the storehouse of 
all these myriads of impressions ; and which, 
in addition, governs those actions or func- 
tions of the body that are automatic. 

It is this mind that primarily controls 
95 



the act of breathing, the beating of the heart 
and the circulation of the blood, the di- 
gestion, assimilation and metabolism of the 
food, the secreting action of the ductless 
glands. 

This part of our consciousness is perenni- 
ally awake. But it is most awake when 
the objective mind is asleep. And the more 
profound the unconsciousness of the ob- 
jective mind, the more active the function- 
ing power of the subjective mind. 

Exploiting the Unconscious. 

It is the subjective mind that busies itself 
in the deep-sleep explorations which we 
know as "dreams" — that is active in pic- 
turing fantastic impressions that are merely 
the reflections of various sensory stimulii. 
And it is this mind that can, when properly 
guided, send down its tendrils into the reser- 
voir of almost unlimited potentialities, and 
bring to its owner the attainment of almost 
any inspiration, within reason. 

Now, the fundamental idea of Dr. Quack- 
enbos and other psychologists is to take 
advantage of the activities of the subcon- 
scious mind, and instead of letting it wan- 
der aimlessly in the poppy-fields df the 

96 







•52 






Cj 












-1 






sleep-state, utilize its efforts along con- 
structive lines. 

You can accomplish this by training the 
mind to concentrate on the problem to be 
solved, or the career to be achieved, or 
the book to be written, by directing it 
to work in a more or less consecutive way. 

The best way to bring about these re- 
sults is to think as intently as possible, dur- 
ing those moments of semi-unconsciousness 
that immediately precede the state of sleep, 
or during that interval of half-wakefulness 
that ushers in the period of complete wake- 
fulness, of the matter under consideration. 

Suppose you have a story to write — a 
story that has run itself into a mental cul- 
de-sac, and refuses to come out into the 
path of progress. Or suppose there is a 
business problem, the outcome of which 
does not seem clear. Or suppose you have 
an inability to coordinate physical facul- 
ties — an inability that results from some 
mental inhibition — as is frequently the case 
with singers or musicians. 

If you are confronted with any of these 
conditions just try this. While lying in 
the condition of revery that comes just be- 
fore or immediately after sleep, say to your- 
self, over and over again, "This plot will 

97 



unravel itself to me, the denouement will 
be clear!" 

Or else go to sleep with your mind fo- 
cused upon the business problem, or the 
career, or whatever it is that may be upper- 
most in your mind. 

After a time — perhaps the very next 
morning — perhaps after a week or a month 
of repeated effort — your subconscious mind 
will act in the matter. And the problem 
will be solved, the mental or physical inhi- 
bition mastered, the serene and implicit 
confidence that makes for success in any 
well-chosen career or undertaking assured. 

Dr. Quackenbos, himself, is also a wonder- 
ful example of the workings of this prin- 
ciple of sleep-inspiration. For a great deal 
of the doctor's very excellent writing is done 
under this stimulus. 

It is Dr. Quackenbos's routine practice 
to provide himself with pencil and a pad 
of paper when retiring, and before going 
to sleep to concentrate his mind upon the 
matter under way. In the morning he will 
frequently find that — while almost uncon- 
scious of any objective effort — he will have 
covered sheet after sheet of paper with a 
perfectly worded essay, or some highly tech- 
nical medical treatise, or some consecutive 

98 



addition to a piece of literary work upon 
which he may have been engaged. 

How You May Tap Your Psychic 
Streams. 

In this way — developed by years of prac- 
tice on himself — but almost equally effec- 
tive in hundreds of patients in whom he has 
trained this faculty — he has demonstrated 
that it is possible to tap psychic streams 
of consciousness that will quite uniformly 
sweep impressions, ideas, and memory im- 
pulses into objective consciousness, there 
to be part and parcel of available knowl- 
edge. 

One well-known authoress trained by 
Dr. Quackenbos to go into the autosug- 
gestible state, finds that what she suggests 
to herself materializes later in the form 
of short stories, novels, or even plays, — 
all of which have brought her large finan- 
cial returns. 

By this method, also, the development 
of the memory can be stimulated to a 
remarkable degree, as has been repeatedly 
proved. 

So, in this wonderful way, when the 
working mind relinquishes its burden of 

99 



thought to the mind that is active while 
we sleep, the matter is taken up and car- 
ried to a conclusion, or towards some defi- 
nite constructive result. 

As Dr. Quackenbos says : "Let the brain 
be sound, and the immediate output of in- 
tellectual power in response to suggestion 
is little short of the miraculous. Where 
technic is understood, a single suggestional 
treatment has unfettered literary faculty, 
and a few subsequent inspirations from the 
standpoint of rhetorical canon have impar- 
ted to the things created, tone, refinement, 
seriousness, and spiritual quality. Two 
or three inspirational appeals, given after 
mastering the spirit of the plays and satis- 
fying myself of the personal fitness of 
the subjects, have raised now well-known 
actresses from mediocrity to fame. In these 
cases dormant dramatic bent was instan- 
taneously awakened to activity, self-con- 
sciousness was obliterated, genius in em- 
bryo was suddenly discovered, and ma- 
tured" 

In conditions stimulated by this means, 

thought is fluent, perplexities are dissolved 

in a flash of intuition, and knowledge stored 

up in the reservoir of the soul is liberated 

to instant use. 

100 



Yet one paramount advantage of such 
sleep-work is that it causes no weariness 
of either nerve or brain — because it employs 
neither. Nor is there any conscious strain- 
ing, or protracted tedious toil, or loss of 
vitality, such as almost always accompanies 
conscious effort. 

How Mothers Can Help Train Their 
Children. 

Mothers will find in this principle of sug- 
gestion a powerful weapon for moulding the 
moral and mental development of their 
children. For the child is most impression- 
able, and responsive to suggestion— good as 
well as bad. It needs no ghost returned 
from the tomb to tell us this. Any mother 
who has ever raised a child or two will 
testify to the "imitativeness" of children, 
and to their susceptibility. Children, there- 
fore, respond wonderfully well to suggestive 
treatment. 

Now, remember that, during sleep, the 
objective mind is at rest. The subjective 
intelligence, or unconscious mind, however, 
never sleeps. It can be readily reached 
and influenced when the active mind is 
acquiescent by suggestion given during 
sleep. A good plan would be for the 

101 



mother to sit quietly by the side of the 
bed and, as the youngster is falling asleep, 
or after he is asleep — else slip quietly to 
his bed. Begin by stroking the child's 
forehead, gently and reassuringly. Then, 
in a firm serious tone, talk quietly to the 
little one — repeating over and over : 

"You will never again be afraid to go 
upstairs in the dark." Or, "You are going 
to be a good girl in the future; you are 
never going to be disobedient again." 

Or, say to your little boy: "Bobbie, 
you're going to be able to learn your les- 
sons more readily than you do. You will 
be able to concentrate your mind better 
upon what the teacher is trying to tell 
you. You will take more interest in 
your school work." 

And so on, to this effect — and always 
with absolute sincerity. Try this for five 
or ten minutes each night on a youngster 
who may be a little backward in his school 
work, or who is indolent, obstinate, unruly 
or even untruthful. 

Try it in such obstinate habits as bed- 
wetting, thumb-sucking, stuttering or stam- 
mering. 

You'll find your suggestions particularly 
helpful in overcoming night-terrors and dis- 

102 



tressing dreams, and in twitching, tremors 
and all functional nervous conditions. 

But Don't Hesitate to Try the 
Treatment on Adults as Well. 

The method has worked almost miracu- 
lously in hundreds, if not thousands, of 
well authenticated instances. Why should 
it not operate equally well with your child? 
Or, in fact, with any member of your 
family who may stand in need — as we all 
do — of a little admonition for the good of 
our souls. For adults are benefited quite 
as much by this treatment as are children. 

Don't be self-conscious and hesitant be- 
cause of the fact that this procedure may 
strike you as foolish and far-fetched. Re- 
member that hardened old scientists, who 
have studied all their lives along these 
lines of soul and mind development, be- 
lieve in the principles, and employ them 
every day — on thousands of patients who 
pay good money for the benefits they derive 
from this practice. 

And remember also that great artists, 
writers, and educators have found these 
methods of signal help in developing the 
efficiency which has given them a unique 

103 



place, and gained for them well deserved 
recognition. 

I think it is foolish, and would be arous- 
ing false hopes in the breasts of thousands 
of my friends to tell you that you can 
be anything you want to be. For there may 
be physical or other limitations that no 
amount of mental concentration could even 
overcome. 

No boy or girl with short, stubby fingers 
can ever hope to become a great violinist 
or pianist. No girl devoid of all artistic 
temperament can ever hope to gain fame 
on the stage or on the screen. No man 
who has an absolute loathing for his busi- 
ness or profession can ever hope to achieve 
more than mediocre success. 

I do tell you, however, that every one 
of you can be stronger, healthier, more 
alert mentally, and better off financially, 
socially and in every other material way — 
by practicing the broad principles I have 
here laid down for you. This is as true 
as God in heaven himself. 



104 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Why Every Normal Person Likes or 

Dislikes Certain People 

Instinctively 

Haven't you often met people who seem 
to have been old friends — almost from the 
very first moment you met them? 

And again haven't you been brought in 
contact with other people with whom you 
felt unconsciously that you could never be 
friends? If you were to live with them a 
hundred years, you could never grow to like 
them, or to be happy and contented in 
their company. 

With the "friendly" friends you feel at 
home. They understand you — you under- 
stand them. You could be together almost 
indefinitely without occasion ever arising 
for friction. 

With the other class there is constant 
clash. They "get on your nerves." They 
seem to go out of their way to do things 
that cause you annoyance. 

105 



Of course, actually, they do not. They 
may even be well-meaning and sincere in 
their desire to make a good impression 
with you. 

But, try as they may, they don't. And 
they can't. For as I firmly believe, they 
are not physically, or rather psychically, 
built to get into harmonious relations with 
you. And this is why I believe they can- 
not. 

Friendship and Affection A Matter of 
Right Vibration. 

The particles or electrons that comprise 
their bodies and nerve and brain cells 
do not vibrate in harmony with yours. And 
perhaps they never can be made to. Per- 
haps the rate of vibration may always con- 
tinue antagonistic to yours. Because of 
this your nervous and mental reactions 
will always remain antagonistic to them. 

This is my theory, and I believe it will 
account, not only for likes and dislikes, or 
love and hate, but even for life and death, 
sickness and health, optimism and pessi- 
mism, and all those manifest characteristics 
that go to make up what we call "person- 
ality." 

I conceive of every particle of matter 
106 



that goes to make up the billions of cells 
of the body as being in a constant state 
of vibration. 

The rate of vibration of these particles 
is something established — something innate, 
perhaps, in the individual, and normal to 
that particular person. 

If the particles comprising his cells should 
vibrate at a rate faster or slower than his 
normal rate, it would interfere with the 
function of the cells, just as if an engine, 
say, were to be run much slower or much 
more rapidly than its normal speed would 
fail to function, or operate satisfactorily. 

How I Try to Explain Life and Death. 

Let us consider life and death for a 
moment, as these are the two most impor- 
tant states of our organism. With the 
origin of life, of course, we cannot deal. 
For this question has proved too deep for 
even the greatest minds that have ever 
lived on this earth — perhaps it may never 
be solved. 

Let us deal rather with sickness and 
health — things concerning which we have 
some definite ideas and theories. 

Let us suppose a standard maximum and 
107 



minimum rate of vibration, which repre- 
sents the normal rate of vibration for that 
type of cell in our body. Between this 
maximum and this minimum rate of vibra- 
tion these cells function with all the energy 
of physiological health and vigor. The 
"life-force" — that unknown and perhaps un- 
knowable principle that starts the vibra- 
tions and then keeps them oscillating — can 
manifest itself in a wholesome, natural body. 

Can't you see — and I am particularly 
addressing the doctors and scientists and 
professors of psychology who have done me 
the honor to scientifically investigate me and 
my work — that as long as these conditions 
continue, aggregation of cells we call our 
body will be "alive" and "healthy." 

Between certain limits in the fluctuation 
of the vibratory rate, health can be main- 
tained and life will continue. The persis- 
tence of this normal vibration may account 
for the phenomenon we call health, which 
is a species of vibration. 

If the vibratory rate is retarded, or if 
there is a decided increase in the number 
of vibrations — swinging the pendulum be- 
yond the minimum and maximum limits 
of vibration normal to that individual — 
it would seem that life could no longer 

108 



be maintained in that particular individual. 
If the vibratory rate — because of accident, 
fever, or any extraordinary stimulus — will 
be shot up above the maximum, life would 
inevitably be destroyed — we might vibrate 
ourselves into the next plane of existence. 

If, on the other hand, because of de- 
generative changes in the tissues, or because 
of the accumulation of toxic material, which 
hampers the natural function, the rate of 
vibration should fall below the minimum, 
the conditions for the normal carrying on 
of the functions of those cells would also 
be inhibited and death, or some profoundly 
depressing disease might manifest itself. 

So, it would seem evident that life being 
the manifestation of vibratory activity, of 
the rate normal to the individual, serious 
illness or death might result, where the dis- 
turbance in the rate of vibration either above 
or below normal would be sufficient to 
throw out of balance the vibration rate. 

Sickness Probably with Deviation of 
Normal Vibration Rate 

We would be justified therefore, in con- 
cluding that sickness consists in reality of 
a deviation from the normal rhythm of the 
body cells and yet not sufficiently marked 

109[ 



in either direction to swing the rate above 
or below the maximum or the minimum 
"dead line." 

In all probability, we may never be able 
to demonstrate this mechanically. In point 
of fact, I have talked the matter over with 
a number of scientists in years past, and 
they tell me that there is at present no 
possible means of estimating the rate of 
vibration in a body cell. Where they have 
to deal with solid body the difficulty is not 
so great because these substances produce 
a definite impact upon a diaphram or drum- 
head attachment, the rate of which can be 
distinctly measured. However, it will be 
obvious to everybody that this same impact 
would not be at all possible with a speck 
of jelly-like substance. However, this need 
not alter the hypothesis, nor the strong 
probability that the theory is correct. 

Why We Often Lack Resistance. 

Now, looking at the matter from this 
standpoint, just what is it that happens to 
the body when we are debilitated and lack 
resistance and stamina, or when we are 
overcome by various disease processes that 
do not at all affect us in our normal condi- 
tion. 

110 



Everyone knows that he is more rascep* 
tible to the influence of colds and other 
disturbed physical conditions when he is 
run down. This is because of over-exertion, 
over-stimulation of the nervous system, 
overwork — which means that we do not 
sufficiently recuperate from too much ac- 
tivity of the nerves and muscles — there is 
accumulation of what physicians call path- 
ological products and "by-products" in the 
system — material which has no physiologi- 
cal use, and which constitutes itself a men- 
ace, because it is inherently poisonous by 
nature. 

The accumulation of these "by-products" 
hampers the work of the normal cells, pre- 
vents their normal functioning, so that they 
cannot, for instance, throw out their proper 
anti-bodies or anti-toxins, and other chem- 
ical and organic defenses against invading 
micro-organism, which we are breathing in 
with every breath, and taking into the 
system with every particle of food and 
drink. 

These cells, then, are rendered incapable 
of bringing about the condition which would 
be normal to the body, because the accumu- 
lation of fatigue poisons, or other sub- 
stances resulting from the breaking down 

111 



of the body cells, exerts a paralyzing in- 
fluence upon the activities of the cells 
themselves. The failure of these cells to 
function normally, and to eliminate the 
accumulated toxins, retards the rate of 
vibration of the electrons that constitute 
the cell. This in turn produces a still great- 
er disturbance in the equilibrium, whereby 
the repair and the destruction of cell tissue 
is regulated, and so a vicious circle is de- 
veloped and continues. 

Possible Explanation for the Action of 
Homeopathic Dilutions. 

May this not account for the action of in- 
finitesimal quantities of drugs such as are 
given by homeopathic physicians. It is a 
matter of arithmetic to show that, for in- 
stance, in the thousandth decimal dilution, 
there is no more of the original medicine 
that is supposed to be given than there would 
be if it were dissolved in one drop, and 
that one drop were dissolved in the ocean, 
and one drop of that solution were to be 
taken. And yet it is unquestioned that 
many of these higher homeopathic dilutions 
have definite potency. Hospital records and 
the records of physicians in private prac- 
tice substantiate this. 

112 



In fact, it is a matter of every day knowl- 
edge that in many cases homeopathic phy- 
sicians get substantially the same effects 
that allopathic physicians secure when they 
give heroic doses of some powerful drugs. 

I am told that under certain conditions 
a slight "needle prick" of the thirtieth deci- 
mal dilution of nux vomica may resuscitate 
a patient who is almost in a state of col- 
lapse. This cannot be explained on the 
principle that the body cells have been 
whipped into a normal functioning condi- 
tion by the irritating effect of the drug 
itself, because, as I say, there would not 
be a sufficient amount of strychnine in this 
thirtieth decimal dilution to stimulate ac- 
tivity in the nervous system of a fly. In- 
deed, there would not be a sufficient 
amount of stimulation in all that a person 
could drink of this dilution to give any 
actual effect. 

However, the vital forces governing the 
rate of vibration may be influenced by even 
this homeopathic dose. For no one can say 
just how much or how little anything may 
be required to stimulate the subtle life 
forces that govern the rate of vibration of 
the cells. 

113 



Tse Scientific Basis of Love and 
Affection. 

Consider now the exceedingly difficult 
and intricate problem of explaining the es- 
sence of magnetism. Why is it that we 
are attracted to certain individuals and 
are repelled by others ? Is there a scien- 
tific basis for love and affection? Why 
should a man select one woman out of 
thousands who may be equally, or even 
more attractive? If it is merely sex-at- 
traction, why is it not equally strong toward 
all physically perfect and attractive women? 
Why does love sometimes burn out? Why 
do we feel drawn to one person and re- 
main unmoved or even repelled by another? 

If we admit that magnetism is a form 
of vibration, we can readily see why this 
vibration may meet a sympathetic response 
in the organism of one woman, but find 
this totally missing in hundreds of others. 
On this supposition, we can understand, 
on scientific grounds, why the society of, 
or contact with, this one woman should 
constitute a pleasurable interchange, where- 
as with others it might actually be distaste- 
ful. 

114 



And this applies with equal force to all 
other social relations. The condition, how- 
ever, need not necessarily be permanent, for, 
in those who may be indifferent one to 
the other, frequent contact might so ad- 
just their rhythm of vibration that ulti- 
mately they be most harmonious. This 
magnetic interchange, by the very principle 
of physical contact, might produce an equal- 
izing or a harmonizing of this vibratory 
rate, and thus love grow by the very thing 
it feeds upon. 

But, if by reason of illness — particularly 
if it involves the nervous system, the nor- 
mal rhythm of vibration in one or both 
parties to a marriage be materially altered, 
we can see where actual hate may replace 
a former ardent love. Affection may, fig- 
uratively, be burnt to ashes ; and, than the 
ashes of a dead love, there is nothing more 
dead in all nature. This also would ex- 
plain why a judicious amount of absence 
might make a heart grow fonder. It would 
afford the jarring electrons opportunity to 
return to their normal rhythm, and give 
the exhausted magnetism a chance to re- 
plenish itself. 

115 



How Personality May Be Explained. 

This theory of vibration would also ex- 
plain "personality." We are attracted by 
the personality of one with whom we vi- 
brate in harmony, while repelled by another, 
whose particular power of magnetism is 
a source of conscious or unconscious irri- 
tation to us. The feeling of "acquaintance- 
ship" we have for absolute strangers to 
whom we are introduced for the first time 
may be a magnetic attraction based upon 
a rapport of vibration. 

On the other hand, there are people with 
whom we might associate forever without 
feeling that we "know" them. This may 
have a foundation of reason in it. Though 
to our everyday minds these people are 
"known," to our subliminal minds and 
to the vital force that animates us, they are, 
and always must remain, strangers. 

Yet, some personalities seem capable of 
accommodating themselves to the magne- 
tism of individuals who exhibit personal 
and physical characteristics with which they 
themselves may have nothing in common. 
Why is this? 

May it not be that these magnetic indi- 
viduals are able, by an effort of will or some 

116 



inherent psychical ability, to alter their 
rates of vibration, to accommodate theirs 
to vibrations of totally dissimilar magne- 
tism? May this principle not be of the 
same nature as that, according to which, 
by switching on a negative or a positive 
current, the polarity of a salt is changed 
completely in its chemical characteristics. 
Successful actors, singers or public men, 
to attain any degree of popularity, must 
possess this ability to change their vibratory 
rates. 

How the Aged Rob the Young of 
Vitality. 

And what of the loss in vitality in child- 
ren who sleep with the aged? The facts of 
such loss are admitted by almost every com- 
petent medical observer, and the principle 
has been recognized from time immemorial. 
Even in the Bible mention is made of the 
ancient King David, to whom was given 
a young girl, to supply him with vitality. 

Only twenty years ago, certain institu- 
tions, founded upon the same principles, 
existed in France. Young girls and boys 
were supplied to old women and men as 
bed-fellows. Frequently, the aged repro- 
bates slept between two youths, generally 

117 



selected from the opposite sex. Almost 
without exception these young folk lost in 
vitality, some actually sickening. The evil 
effects of this strange sale of vitality were 
so potent that finally the institutions were 
closed by police order. 

Also, we are familiar with the almost 
invariable rejuvenation of an old man who 
marries a vigorous young girl, or of an old 
woman who purchases the affection, or, at 
any rate, the marital companionship, of a 
lusty youth. In most instances, these elder- 
ly people seem to acquire a new lease of life. 

If we conceive of magnetism as a form 
of vibration, to be abstracted and absorbed 
as one abstracts and absorbs electricity from 
a faradic or a galvanic battery, what could 
be more reasonable than to infer that there 
is an actual diminution in the amount of 
vital force in the case of the youth, mani- 
festing itself in irritability, insomnia, loss 
of vigor, and a general deficiency in the 
functions of metabolism. Also, that the ab- 
straction of a certain amount of vitality 
should cause a diminished rate of vibration 
in the molecules of the nervous and other 
tissues. 

On the other hand, as a result of this 
magnetic contact, an increase of this vital 

118 



force, by the abstraction of vigorous mag- 
netic vitality, and its appropriation by the 
nervous system of the aged, exercises a 
stimulating and rejuvenating influence upon 
the latter. 

What Authority is There for 
These Theories? 

Now, by what authority can it be as- 
serted that the various phenomena mani- 
fested in life, love or death originate in 
variations in the normal rate of vibrations 
in the cell-units which compose our bodies? 
I should like to answer this in the Irish 
way by asking by what authority should 
we grant that there are ultra-spectral colors, 
colors whose rates of vibration are slower 
or faster than our optic nerves are cap- 
able of perceiving? 

Also, why should we admit that there 
are sounds too coarse or too ethereal for 
our auditory nerves to transmit? Why do 
scientists postulate a fourth dimension to 
explain natural phenomena that cannot 
be accounted for on a basis of three dimen- 
sions ? 

If, then, the old order is changing, and 
our earlier conceptions of science have 

119 



had to accommodate themselves to newer 
and more accurate theories; if the very 
things we talk about so glibly — gravity, 
attraction, repulsion, atoms, matter, energy, 
thought — are mere words, employed to ex- 
press an idea groping in the dark toward 
a far-distant light, why may we not enter- 
tain yet one more theory? This may, or 
may not, ultimately be proved correct. 
Still it seems to explain quite clearly and 
rationally the inner meanings of those 
transcendal problems of Life, Love and 
Death? 



120 



CHAPTER IX. 

How All Your Forces Are Built Up 
by Sleep. 

There is nothing upon which a greater 
number of people will agree than that 
sleep does certain things to us that are 
wonderfully beneficial and health-compel- 
ling. We may not know why they do this, 
but we know they do. This is out of the 
great advances which science has made with- 
in the present generation. 

For until recently, even scientists have 
regarded sleep as a purely negative pro- 
cess. When we slept it was believed that 
bodily function ceased — that we were busy 
doing nothing. 

Sleep Is One of the Most Important of 
All Functions. 

We now know that sleep, far from be- 
ing the "death of life" is one of the most 
important of all living functions — the thing 
that makes life possible. 

121 



Instead of being a negative process it 
is a very positive one; instead of stop- 
ping all activities it only starts a new 
and tremendously important set of activi- 
ties. 

Sleep substitutes for the destructive pro- 
cesses of active life, constructive measures. 
It reverses the downward trend that ac- 
companies waking life. It lifts us back 
to the top of that physiological toboggan 
down which we commenced to slide the 
moment we got up. It recharges the ex- 
hausted body batteries and fills the organic 
furnace with fresh fuel, for the "anabolic" 
or building-up processes are in excess of 
the "katabolic" or breaking down processes 
during sleep. 

In short, sleep, instead of being the 
waste of time and the necessary evil that 
we fatuously think we deserve medals for 
curtailing, is the most important thing in 
the world— more important even than food. 
For we eat to sleep, but we sleep to live. 

You Couldn't Live Unless You Slept. 

Men have gone 72 days without food, 
and a week without water. But they usu- 
ally die in less than 10 days if totally de- 
prived of sleep. It is said that rarely do 

122 



the victims of the Chinese tortures keep 
their reason after the fifth or sixth day 
of their enforced wakefulness. 

Our own infamous "third degree" is suc- 
cessful for the same reason that the Chinese 
method of punishing grave offenders is suc- 
cessful. It isn't humanly possible long 
to withstand the torture of loss of sleep. 
To gain respite from the continuous brutal 
day and night questionings, the victim, to 
obtain sleep, will agree to anything, and 
sign any sort of a confession. And some 
fine day, when we become really civilized, 
this barbarism will go the way of the thumb- 
screw, the rack, and the Iron Maiden. 

It is during sleep that the final transfor- 
mation of food into tissue is effected — 
that the finished product of digestion is 
finally converted into new muscle, brains, 
blood and nerve cells. 

This explains the fattening influence of 
sleep, and shows why the dietitian, in 
attempting to reduce an overly-corpulent 
patient to reasonable proportions, first cuts 
down his hours of sleep. 

Loss of Sleep a Form of Starvation. 

Loss of sleep is really a form of starva- 
tion, not to be made up by increasing the 

123 



amount of food taken into the system. 
"Endurance racers" prove this in an inter- 
esting and convincing manner. Those en- 
gaged in six-day bicycle races and other 
half-witted forms of diversion eat four or 
five times as much food as the ordinary 
man. Yet the end of the contest finds them 
hollow-eyed and cadaverous. Loss of sleep 
— even more than their physical exertions 
— has prevented them from transforming 
food into tissue. 

It is this positive reconstructive quality 
in sleep that explains why babies, whose 
chief business in life is to grow, spend from 
1 6 to 1 8 hours out of every 24 in sleeping, 
a capacity which gradually diminishes as 
maturity is approached, until it finally set- 
tles down around the average of 9 hours. 

It is the loss of this reconstructive power 
that accounts for the short hours of sleep 
and the light character of the sleep of the 
aged. Old people do not sleep lightly and 
get up early because they don't need sleep, 
but because they can't get it. They have 
lost the power of reconstruction that goes 
with sleep — and consequently the function 
of sleep itself is partly abolished. 

The cat-naps and dozings of old people 
are not true sleep. They are really little 

134 



torpors due to weakness and exhaustion of 
the vital functions, and poisoning from 
faulty elimination. They foreshadow the 
final end of consciousness. 

Why Sound Sleep is More Helpful 
to You. 

The deeper the sleep the quicker the re- 
cuperation, and the more effectively all the 
vital processes of repair are carried out. 
The lighter and more disturbed the sleep 
the slower the recuperation from fatigue 
and the longer it takes to effect repair. 

This explains the differences in the quality 
of sleep, something that everyone has noted. 
It explains why sometimes a little sleep 
of an hour or two under conditions of 
complete relaxation will accomplish more 
actual reconstruction than a whole night's 
restless, dream-racked sleep. 

It also explains why some vigorous indi- 
viduals, who sleep deeply and wholeheart- 
edly, are able to recuperate fully and be 
fresh and thoroughly rested after 4 or 5 
hours' sleep. While others who sleep "light", 
with one eye always open for dangers that 
creep out of their atavistic memories for 
their active imaginations, require 9 or 10 

125 



hours, or even 12 or 13 hours, to accomplish 
even less. 

Indeed, these exceptional individuals who 
for years on end have been able to do a 
tremendous amount of work on 4 or 5 
hours' sleep nightly, have set a pace which 
has been distinctly injurious to the race as 
a whole. Their iniquitous example has 
established false standards, until it has 
become almost a reproach to be a 10-hour- 
a-day sleeper. 

Don't Spend More Energy in a Day 

Than You Can Build Up in a 

Night's Sleep. 

To spend more energy — especially ner- 
vous energy — in a day than one can re- 
store in a night's sleep is to be headed for 
physical bankruptcy. Even the loss of 
one night's sleep affects the nervous system 
of many. It causes sleepiness and mental 
irritability. Food doesn't digest so well. 
There is a general lack of "punch" that 
usually takes more than a good night's 
sleep to build back. 

Modern conditions, with their anxieties, 
cares and hurries, are causing more nervous 
instability — directly traceable to lack of 

126 



proper sleep. Never before was there a time 
when people needed to sleep so long and so 
"hard" in order to build up vitality wasted 
in our intensive methods of living than 
right now. 

The man who continuously loses in the 
quality of the sleep he requires is laboring 
under a handicap that will diminish his 
chances of success in life. The woman who 
habitually is disturbed in her rest, and in 
its duration, will make a failure of her 
children. 

We need all the sound, restful, refreshing 
sleep we can get. Sleep builds health — 
health brings wealth, beauty, and happiness. 



127 



CHAPTER X. 

Your Hypnotic Forces and How They 
Build Up Health. 

One of the most potent of all the func- 
tions of the subjective mind is in its power- 
ful influence in building robust health and 
in relieving many forms of disorders 
brought about by unstable conditions of the 
nervous and the digestive system. 

The far-reaching influences of this sug- 
gestion are proved, and have been proved 
daily for thousands of years, in the cure 
of physical conditions seemingly incurable 
by any other means. 

A great wave of interest in this matter 
swept over the country only recently, when 
the so-called "cures" of Monsieur Coue were 
a front page newspaper sensation and a 
subject of conversation everywhere. 

In fact thousands of people in every 
country of the civilized world have, for 
a few years past, been treating themselves 

128 




> 






L> 












every morning and evening to a rosary 
of comforting suggestion. 

This rosary is composed of a string, with 
20 knots tied in it. It is intended to check 
off the number of times a Coue devotee is 
supposed to repeat, being exceedingly care- 
ful to move his lips all the while, "day 
by day, in every way, I am getting better 
and better." Just before getting up, and 
again on going to bed, this ritual is in- 
tended. 

The "in every way/' accenting the 
"every", signified that physically, spiritually, 
mentally, morally and financially, the sub- 
ject is expressing a general all-around confi- 
dence in his resolute mental conviction that 
his condition is "getting better and better." 

He feels morally certain that this mental 
conviction will be effective in relieving him 
of his affiliations. And in many instances, 
he is thoroughly justified in this assump- 
tion. In others, he may not be. To dif- 
ferentiate these conditions, and put the 
Coue method on a rational basis, is my 
principal reason for writing this chapter. 

The apostle of this new credo is M. Emile 
Coue, a former druggist of Nancy, France, 
who later devoted himself to the practice 
of hypnotism and therapeutic suggestion. 

139 



For nearly ten years Coue has been preach- 
ing his doctrine. He spent a winter re- 
cently in England, where he gained much 
fame by curing Lord Curzon of "a danger- 
ous and stubborn malady." And Lord 
Curzon is only one of hundreds of cases 
helped by this means. 

Cone's work, published under the title 
"Self-Mastery by Conscious Auto Sugges- 
tion" expounds the proposition that in each 
of us there lies latent a marvelous and 
mysterious power, inherited at birth. 

If we can learn to exercise this power 
consciously, and give ourselves good sug- 
gestion, we can regain perfect physical, 
mental and moral health, and so influence 
those with whom we are brought into busi- 
ness contact that they will be glad to make 
our financial lot much more rose-strewn. 

Absurd and Impossible Claims. 

Coue and his disciples have published 
hundreds of testimonials of cures for or- 
ganic heart disease, falling of the womb, 
Pott's disease of the spine, frontal sinus 
abscess (one of which had successfully re- 
sisted ii operations), varicose ulcers, club 
foot, bunions, mosquito bites, ingrowing 

130 



toe nails, and practically all the diseases 
than can afflict a human being, merely by 
repeating the suggestion 20 times, morning 
and night, at the same time "holding the 
thought," as our Christian Science friends 
would say. 

That many of these claims are utterly 
absurd and absolutely impossible has been 
proved by the experience of countless gen- 
erations of observers of methods similar to 
those extolled by Coue and his followers. 

For Coue merely puts into practice the 
old principle that each of us carry within 
himself the instrument whereby he can cure 
himself; this however, is only operative 
where the disease or the disorder may be 
due to the abnormal functioning of the 
nervous system, or to the abnormal func- 
tioning of an organ, the operation of which 
can be influenced by suggestion through 
the nervous system. 

All conditions which can be improved or 

eradicated by stimulating better digestion, 

assimilation and nutrition, or that respond 

directly to strong mental stimule, healthily 

directed, can, of course, be helped by the 

Coue formula. 

131 



Mental Science Practiced by the Wise 
Men of All Ages. 

However, varied functional disorders and 
disturbances in metabolism — and they con- 
stitute a formidable list — have been cured 
by priests and saints of all religions and in 
every age; by prayers and religious faith, 
by the mind cure, by Christian Science, 
by spiritism, by mesmerism, and suggestive 
hypnotism, by the Coue system, and by 
numerous other methods of reaching the 
subconscious or subjective mind, and in in- 
fluencing it to stir up a return to normal 
functioning. 

These results are accomplished by the 
operation of well-known laws. Briefly, 
we have two distinct minds, the objective, 
that mind which receives all the impressions 
from the outside world through the avenues 
of the five senses, and the subjective, 
that mind that controls the automatic func- 
tions, breathing, the beating of the heart, 
the digestive and metabolism processes and 
the function of elimination. 

Healing by some of these various mental 
methods has been practiced possibly from 
the very earliest syllable of recorded time. 

The Egyptian priests were adepts in sug- 
132 



gestion, affecting many miraculous cures 
through its agency. They had a mar- 
velously well-equipped "dream cure" temple 
near Thebes, run on a strictly commercial 
basis, where their priests held daily hypno- 
tic seances, and treated patients by sug- 
gestive therapeutics. 

The ancient Greeks and Romans knew 
and understood the potency of suggestion. 
Even in the time of Hippocrates, four 
hundred years before the Christian era, 
there were schools of priest-physicians, 
who healed by means of various appeals 
to the mind. 

And Captain Phillips, great African ex- 
plorer, now informs us that even in dark- 
est Africa he came in contact with forms 
of mental treatment that must have had 
their origin in remotest antiquity. 

It is even claimed that the condition of 
ecstacy into which certain religious enthu- 
siastics throw themselves may subconscious- 
ly influence wild animals, and tame their 
ferocious natures. 

The seer and prophet Daniel, was a 
notable example of this. While the adepts 
of India, and even Buddhist priests of the 
lower order, often displayed their esoteric 
powers by remaining in tiger-infested jun- 

133 



gles, in which an ordinary man would prob- 
ably be killed in an hour. 

Self-hypnotism, it is believed, gives to 
the mind of man the ability to communi- 
cate telepathically his dominance over the 
"beasts of the field." In any event, the 
fact remains that the feat is done, and 
can be done, under favorable circumstances. 
Famous horse and animal tamers probably 
owe their extraordinary dominance over 
wild horses and wilder animals to the de- 
velopment of some such faculty. 

The Pre-Requisites for a Mental Cure. 

The basis for all successful suggestion, 
no matter what may be the objective belief 
of a patient, is that he shall have faith, 
actively or passively. If the subjective mind 
can then be controlled by suggestion, the 
curative results will almost inevitably fol- 
low — granting that there are no obstacles 
of a distinctly pathological nature to pre- 
vent. 

If the objective mind can be influenced 
to accept the suggestions and the certainty 
of their successful operations with the same 
facility exhibited by the subjective mind, 
so much the better. 

134 



But even if the objective mind doesn't 
believe, but will remain passive while the 
subjective mind is doing some believing, 
the results, always within rational limits, 
will be favorable. 

So then, within the domain of physiolo- 
gical functioning, the Coue system, Chris- 
tian Science, hypnotic suggestion, a sacred 
relic or a fetish — all operating in the same 
way — may produce distinctly curative re- 
sults. 

The Power to Heal the Sick. 

Healing the sick was originally supposed 
to be a power given directly by God, and 
was usually exerted by means of prayers 
and ceremonies, by incantations and the 
laying on of hands, by rings, images, relics 
and talismans. The knowledge of the art 
was originally transmitted with sacred mys- 
teries. 

We find, in both the Old and the New 
Testament, numerous instances of the prac- 
tice of healing by the touch and by the 
laying on of the hands. The ancient 
Chronicles tell of miracles of healing per- 
formed by saint and priest. 

Kings and Emperors became adepts. 
Pyrrhus of Epirus was credited with having 

135 



had the power to cure all forms of colic 
and affections of the spleen merely by 
rubbing his big toe over the areas involved. 

The Emperor Vespasion cured lameness, 
nervous disorders and blindness merely 
by laying his hand over the afflicted parts. 
Hadrian cured dropsy by touching the drop- 
sical individuals with the points of his 
fingers. 

The modern pathologist, however, would 
be somewhat at a loss to account for the 
leaky heart, a badly damaged kidney or 
some other practically fatal condition — all 
causative factors in producing dropsy — 
being influenced by the touch of a finger. 

But this isn't any more difficult to be- 
lieve than that the kings of England and 
France could cure throat diseases, and the 
King's evil — sometimes scrofula, but gen- 
erally syphilis — at a touch, or that the 
Counts of Hapsburg could cure stammer- 
ing with a kiss. 

Yet, in all times, the most marvelous 
results have been produced by kings, peas- 
ants, and charlatans indiscriminately — 
provided only that those treated by the 
various methods professed sufficient faith, 
or were sub-consciously influenced by the 
possibilities of cure. 

136) 



The Dictum of Paracelsus. 

Paracelsus, accounted by many a quack, 
but in reality a profound scientist and a 
thoro student of psychic phenomena, stated 
what is now generally admitted to be true, 
when he said: 

"Whether the object of your faith be 
real or false, you will nevertheless obtain 
the same effects. Thus, if I believe in Saint 
Peter's statue as I should have believed 
in Saint Peter himself, I shall obtain the 
same effects that I should have obtained 
from Saint Peter. But that is superstition. 
Faith, however, produces miracles; and 
whether it is a true or a false faith, it will 
always produce the same wonders." 

Much to the same effect are the words 
uttered in the sixteenth century by Pom- 
ponazzi : 

"We can easily conceive the marvelous 
effects which confidence and imagination 
can produce, particularly when both quali- 
ties are reciprocated between the subjects 
and the person who influences them. The 
cures attributed to the influence of certain 
relics are the effect of this imagination and 
confidence. Quacks and philosophers know 
that if the bones of any skeleton were put 

137 



in place of the saint's bones, the sick would 
none the less experience beneficial effects, 
if they believed they were near veritable 
relics." 

Mental Healers of Bygone Days. 

From the most ancient times until the 
middle of the Eighteenth Century, it was 
assumed that all healing power came from 
the Diety, altho the manifestations of this 
power came thru the mental cooperation of 
the patient. About the middle of the 
Eighteenth Century, however, Mesmer, a 
French physician, announced that healing 
was exerted by an imponderable magnetic 
fluid, that came from the stars, and per- 
meated every atom in the universe. 

One variety of this fluid he classified 
as "animal magnetism." This he credited 
with having great healing power. 

Patients on whom Dr. Mesmer operated 
were thrown into a deep sleep or trance, 
from which they frequently awoke entirely 
relieved of pain or nervous trouble. 

In 1 841, Dr. James Braid, a Manchester 
doctor, after studying the phenomena of 
mesmeric sleep, announced that the heal- 
ing power did not come from the one 
who placed the patient in the trance con- 

138 



dition, but originated from latent forces 
in the patient's own consciousness, stimu- 
lated into action by the suggestions made 
to him, while in the trance-like state. 

This condition he called "hypnotism" — 
from the Greek "hypnos", meaning sleep. 

Dr. Braid, while not denying faith heal- 
ing or healing by some Divine power (is 
not all healing, in the last analysis, by 
Divine power?) claimed that this form of 
healing was merely a manifestation of the 
inherent curative power of nature. 

This idea met with wide acceptance 
among medical men. So much so, that 
Dr. Medaile, in Calcutta, employed the hyp- 
notic sleep for anaesthetic purpose — per- 
forming serious surgical operations by its 
aid, until the discovery of chloroform, in 
1848, gave us a much better and more 
dependable anaesthetic. 

In 1884, the Nancy School, with Liebault, 
Bernheim and their students, mapped out 
carefully the field for successful hypnotic 
treatment, and brought a well considered 
technic into being.. Until finally, in 1892, 
fifty years after Braid enunciated his doc- 
trine, a commission of the British Medical 
Association, after a thoro investigation, 

139 



made a favorable report as to the value 
of hypnotism in properly selected cases. 

So that now, the method is in quite 
general use among physicians in all parts 
of the world. Its principles are definitely 
established. 

Some of the greatest specialists in nervous 
disorders in all the world — such men as 
Prof. Ford, Prof. Krafft-Ebbing, Prof. 
Shrenk-Notzing, Drs. Tukey, Wingfield, 
Davis and scores of others — insist that men- 
tal treatment has a profoundly curative 
effect in various bodily maladies, especially 
those due to spasmodic contraction or irri- 
tation of nerves — as is found in asthma^ 
certain varieties of neuralgia, nervous dys- 
pepsia, spasmodic constipation and nervous 
diarrhea. 

Also, in stuttering and stammering, in- 
somnia and nerve irritability, bed-wetting, 
morbid blushing, St. Vitus' dance, writer's 
cramp, neuritis, some forms of rheumatism 
and sciatica, and, in fact, all functional 
conditions in which there does not exist 
a definite pathological state. 

All those disorders in which better nutri- 
tion, assimilation and elimination can be 
stimulated are helped by mental suggestion 
by the right kind of faith, or by any method 

140 



that reaches and positively impresses the 
unconscious mind. 

One of the very best of all these methods 
is the Coue system of treatment. In fact, 
the Coue system has much more to recom- 
mend it than have many other methods of 
administering succor to the soul. But it 
must be seasoned with a strong dash of 
common sense. It must be maintained 
and practiced in that commendable state 
in which at least one of its feet will always 
be on the ground. 

So, tonight, when your head is on the 
pillow, when your body and mind are 
relaxed and drowsiness envelops you, re- 
peat the words here given speaking them 
aloud. Or if this is impractical, make the 
movements with your lips. First, you will 
repeat this sentence five times without an 
interval between: 

"i AM MASTER OF MY FATE I" 

Then, without intermission, without any 
effort, you will repeat this sentence five 
times : 

"i AM CAPTAIN OF MY SOUL !" 

Then again, without hesitating, you will 
say five times: 

141 



"THE THINGS I WANT ARE COMING TO PASS !" 

Then you will chant reverently the Coue 
formula, repeating it twenty times, without 
intermission, making no effort at all be- 
yond that needed to utter the words. 

Day by day, in every way, I am 
getting better and better. 

This is one of the most effective of all 
forms of self-treatment or auto-suggestion. 
If you will only apply it, earnestly and 
conscientiously, it will benefit you beyond 
any expectation. 

Try it and see. 



142 



CHAPTER XL 

How to Employ Suggestive Treatment 
on Others. 

One of the most valuable of all forms 
of suggestion is hypnotic suggestion, used 
for the relief of disorders of functional 
or nervous origin. 

This suggestion is usually administered 
during a hypnotic sleep, or else in a quies- 
cent condition simulating hypnosis. Should 
you wish to treat some member of your 
family or some of your friends, you can 
readily do so by this form of suggestion. 

There are many methods by which 
the hypnotic sleep necessary for the best 
effects of this suggestion may be brought 
about. 

Perhaps the best of all these is a modi- 
fication of the Nancy method, originated 
by Dr. Bernheim, at the famous school in 
Nancy, France. 

To use this method to best advantage 
143 



have the person you are to hypnotize lie 
down or seat himself in a comfortable chair 
that affords support for the head. 

Then, seating yourself beside him, or 
else, standing so that his eyes, when fastened 
on yours, shall be put on a slight tension, 
look for two or three minutes intently into 
the pupils of his eyes. It will be difficult 
for him to maintain this gaze, because of 
the fact that the muscles that focus his 
eyeballs will tend to become fatigued, while 
yours are under no strain in looking down 
into his. 

After awhile, this strain will tell on him. 
He will likely wink several times, and have 
difficulty in maintaining his gaze on your 
pupils. 

How to Hypnotize. 

Then say in a low positive tone, "Your 
eye lids are getting heavy. You are feeling 
tired and drowsy — comfortable and relaxed 
in every muscle. And you are going sound 
away asleep — sound asleep — sound asleep." 

Say this over and over again, in a mon- 
otonous, drowsy tone, and in a very short 
time, your subject's eyelids will begin to 
flutter down, finally settling down to stay. 

Then say "You are going deep, deep 
144 



asleep." Press his closed eyelids slightly 
with your finger tips, to accentuate in his 
mind the impression of sound sleep. 

Then give him the suggestions for the 
relief of his headache, or his nervous con- 
dition, or whatever the condition may be 
that you desire to overcome, talking to him 
in a low earnest voice, just as tho he 
were awake and could hear every word. 

They Hear Every Word. 

And this, in fact, is exactly what he does 
do. He hears perfectly. Your message is 
registered on his subconscious mind, altho 
possibly it may never be raised above the 
threshold of objective consciousness. 

This makes not the slightest difference, 
however, in the effect of the suggestion. This 
effect will be manifest, if it is within the 
range of physiological possibility. 

In other words, if there is no pathological 
condition present which is entirely beyond 
the influence of the mind, in the vast ma- 
jority of cases you will see a wonderful 
difference, almost from the very first treat- 
ment. 

After you have repeated your suggestions 
at least a half a dozen times, say to your 
subject "You have had a delightful little 

145 



nap. And when I count 'three' you'll wake 
up — wide awake — rested and refreshed. 
Ready — one, two, three — wake up." 

Speak the words "Wake up" in a brisk, 
emphatic tone. 

Do not have the slightest fear of not 
being able to wake your subject. Confi- 
dence is everything in this matter. And this 
will come to you with repeated experiences. 

If you will practice this form of psychical 
development for a brief time, you will un- 
consciously find yourself putting it into 
practice in your business and social con- 
nection. 

By imperceptible degrees you'll become 
more positive and self assertive. You'll 
get the "put-it-over" habit. Your words 
will carry more weight. Your actions will 
carry a greater amount of conviction. 

Success will come to you, because you 
will know how to command it. And this 
success will be something that you can never 
lose. For it will be part of the development 
of your soul itself. 



146 



CHAPTER XII. 

Inborn Cowardice and its Cure. 

Perhaps the most common of all "health 
questions" asked me are "How can I over- 
come my fear of the dark, or being alone, 
or of meeting strange people?" 

Many people, who are qualified by a 
prepossessing presence and seemingly every 
other qualification, fail as salesmen, as 
executives, or in their social life — just be- 
cause of these foolish fears. 

I want to talk to you in this chapter 
as the psycho-analysts talk. For, often with 
the explanation of the cause, the condi- 
tion fades into thin air. 

The wrap hung on the wall in the dimly 
lit room has every appearance of a terrify- 
ing ghost — until you summon courage to 
go over and examine it. Then all fear of 
it is forever gone. 

Let us see if we cannot do something 
the same for you by explaining these "in- 

147 



born fears" — many of which come down 
to us from the fears and frights of our 
ancestors. Not immediate ancestors — al- 
though these are responsible in various ways 
for considerable of our nervous instability 
— but of our monkey-like progenitors — our 
great grandfathers ten thousand times re- 
moved — back in the flying-lizard, giant-fern 
period. 

This may seem difficult to believe. But 
scientists who have devoted a lifetime to 
the study now conclude that much un- 
explained nervous apprehension, and many 
intuitive and instinctive fears are inherited 
from our forbears of the ancient world. 

The Embarrassing Soul-Stuff We 

Inherit. 
The biologic cell-stuff — or the soul-stuff 
— whichever it is — that they pass down to 
us, contains the essence of that thing, or 
that state of mind, that makes children 
and many adults fear the dark, or high 
places, or snakes, or mice, or running 
water, or thunderstorms, or being left alone, 
or mysterious forests, or of being tied up, 
or of strangers, or fire, or of a hundred other 
things — equally absurd in this protected 
age. 

148 



And these instinctive fears are by no 
means "imaginary," as so many rugged- 
minded men and women would have us 
believe. On the contrary, they are as 
tangible and definite as is a case of mumps 
or a broken leg — and they cause infinitely 
more suffering than either. 

"Afraid of the Dark." 

Take the fear of darkness, for example, 
and let your imagination dwell upon it 
in this way. Out of the blackness of a 
prehistoric night there creeps a great jungle 
monster. With a roar that freezes the blood 
he springs among the sleeping clan, breaks 
the back of the nearest with a blow, crunches 
the body in his great jaw, and snarlingly 
drags it into the forest. 

There, for hours, the terror-stricken folk 
who have sought refuge in the branches 
of the trees, listen in horror to the slather 
of the carnivorae's bloody feast. 

The nervous systems of these ape-like 
ancestors were shocked with an indelibly 
planted fear of the dark and its dangers. 
Is it any wonder that the survivors of these 
nightly catastrophes transmitted to their 
children, as part of the inheritance of the 

149 



race, the instinct to dread darkness, and to 
fear the mysterious shadowy recesses of the 
forest, where sudden death lurked in the 
undergrowth ? 

Is it to be wondered that the deep caves 
that might harbor ferocious bears, or the 
black gorges and clefts that were likely 
to conceal the sabre-toothed tiger, struck 
the folk over the heart, and caused the 
thick reddish-brown hair of their heads to 
stand on end? 

Children Nearer Their Ancestors Than 
Their Parents. 

Now, children are nearer their ancestors 
than we are. Reason, experience, the shame 
of acknowledging "groundless" terrors, and 
the courage that comes from meeting and 
overcoming obstacles are not yet theirs. 

And so they see bears on the black stairs, 
leering faces peering from shadowy corners, 
and shapes of dread in familiar daytime 
objects. The Thing that might be under 
the bed, or in the cellar, or in the murky 
attic closet — waiting to spring out upon 
them — is to them as real as is George 
Washington or the Desert of Sahara to us. 

And they can no more help being afraid 
150 



of this old racial memory than we can 
help fearing death, or the tax-gatherer, or 
getting run over. 

Practically every child in the world dreads 
the dark. Even the best-born, the healthi- 
est, and the most carefully shielded are 
liable to sudden stampedes of fear, fol- 
lowing some suggestion that overwhelms 
control, and that may actually cause deep- 
seated, or even permanent nervous dis- 
order. 

Why Solitary Confinement Strikes 
Terror. 

This fear of darkness is by no means 
confined to children. Many adults have it 
to an extraordinary degree. If you don't 
believe this just have yourself locked into 
the blackness of a solitary confinement cell 
for a half hour or so, and see. 

The fear of "closeness" complicates the 
fear of darkness in this instance, and in- 
tensifies the dread. Our soul-stuff knows 
that closeness is dangerous, and that to be 
suddenly confronted in a narrow place with 
some peril which there isn't room to avoid, 
or opportunity to run away from, spells 
disaster. This knowledge our half-animal 

151 



forbears have transmitted through all the 
ages that separate them from us. 

So tangled in the woof of inherited in- 
stinct are these racial dreads that only time 
and education and the strong force of ex- 
ample can obliterate or subjugate them. 

The Horror of Heights. 

Almost as unreasoning as the dread of 
darkness is the horror of high places. The 
average person who has not become inured 
to it by experience, could not be hired for 
love or money to walk a girder on the 
twentieth story, or to balance himself on 
the coping of even a moderately high build- 
ing. 

Some there are who cannot look down 
a deep well or a subway excavation. Others 
suffer terribly when they have to go up 
in elevators, or when they cross high 
bridges or ravines. 

Some cannot even watch a steeple- Jack 
at work, or see some reckless but debonnaire 
artisan sliding gayly down a sky-scraping 
rope, without getting seasick. Others are 
frightened, not so much by the height itself, 
as by an almost irresistible desire to jump 
off when they are up there. 

152 



Of course, the slight changes in blood 
pressure which come with the rise above the 
sea level, the feeling of insecurity, the "new- 
ness" of the situation, and the rioting im- 
agination bodying forth the consequences 
of a "spill" all have their effects upon the 
body and upon the mind. 

But back of all these things is that in- 
stinctive "gravity fear," transmitted to us 
by ancestors who didn't fall, but who saw 
clearly what happened to others who did. 

And so, even the tiniest infants, too 
young to know danger, or to have developed 
any imagination, are sometimes "frightened 
stiff" at being lifted toward the ceiling 
or in dropping to the lower floor in an 
elevator. 

How Snakes Affect Soul-Stuff. 

Then there is the fear of snakes and 
of crawling things that possesses ninety- 
nine out of every one hundred of us. What 
is there about a harmless little garter snake 
or a green lizard that should create a 
panic in women and a murder-lust in men? 

There is this about it. In the tropical 
regions that were the first home of the 
race, snakes were almost uniformly ven- 
omous. Our geologic ancestors came to 

153 



know that death sprang upon them from 
the fangs of serpents. 

Thus they came to dread snakes, and 
all creeping and crawling things that sug- 
gested snakes. And so they implanted 
the fear of crawling things in all their 
children — even unto the ten thousandth 
generation. 

The unconquerable fear of water that 
some exhibit, even to the extent of being 
unable to put their heads under water in 
the bathtub, is, to some extent a racial 
instinct, acting upon a nervous system pe- 
culiarly sensitive to this particular stimulus. 

Such also is the terror of thunder-storms, 
of lightning, or of fire. Among children 
too young to have any first-hand experi- 
ence with these things, fear is sometimes 
quite as apparent as it might be in an 
adult who had been through innumerable 
fires and floods. 

For, in the brain stuff or within the 
nerve cells that house instinct, those child- 
ren have knowledge of the dreadful conse- 
quences of floods, of lightning, or of forest 
fires. Their ancestors in the shadowy past 
had these things and had bequeathed the 
memory of them to all children. And so 
they fear. 

154 



When Being Lost Was a Serious Matter. 

But why fear being left alone? Why 
dread solitude — which many shun as though 
it were the devil's chief est work? And why 
do most children suffer actual terror from 
"getting lost"? 

A human being is and always has been 
a social animal. He had to be. For in 
gregarious association with his fellows he 
was better able to repel enemies and to 
care for himself and for others of the 
tribe. So, to be left alone, in the olden 
days, was to be put in an extremely pre- 
carious position. 

The soul of the child or of the timid 
woman remembers this, even though the 
ancient dangerous situations that stimu- 
lated the transmission of this fear-instinct 
will never come again on this planet. 

However, it is all very real to the little 
child, clutching its mother's fingers in grim 
determination not to be abandoned to the 
fate of its remote ancestors' little brother, 
who wandered away one day for that 
fraction of a minute that lost him for- 
ever down the maw of a ravenous beast. 

155 



Why "Foolishness" Is Not Universal. 

But, if these fears are inherited, why 
don't we all inherit them? Why are many 
apparently free from "foolishness?" 

Nervous organisms differ. Some people 
have calm, phlegmatic, "cast-iron" nerves. 
Others are delicate, high-strung and sen- 
sitive to all sorts of influences. Some can 
resist anything. Others can resist nothing. 

Primarily, although not entirely, ner- 
vous stability is a matter of physical health. 
Other things being equal, the robust, ruddy 
individual "who doesn't know he has a 
stomach" usually doesn't know he has a 
nervous system. If he does, the knowledge 
doesn't bother him any. For he sheds 
racial fears and every other kind of fear 
as a duck's back sheds water. 

But the unstable, highly-strung individ- 
ual — not always of the female sex, either 
— who bounces two feet into the air every 
time a door is slammed, who glances over 
his shoulder like a frightened fawn when 
anyone clears his throat or scrapes a chair 
over the floor — this individual is likely 
to be a true son of his lemur granddaddy 
— just the kind of person who would be 
likely to say "No, I don't believe one 

156 



iota in ghosts; but I'm scared to death 
of them." 

He has just the kind of a magnetized 
nervous system that would be likely to 
respond to all the things that once scared 
his grandfather almost out of his wits. And 
his children would be quite likely — or more 
so — to take after him. 

So, to effect a cure of the condition, we 
must put the "reverse English" on the 
process. Children should never be fright- 
ened, should never, under any circum- 
stances, be terrorized by threats of the things 
that caused their ancestors to quake. 

On the contrary, they should always be 
reassured. Everything should be explained 
— quietly and rationally. Tell them that 
"Nature never did betray the heart that 
loved her." And so their experience, health 
and courage will grow and develop until 
the instincts and fears that now torture 
will be regarded with only intelligent inter- 
est and a keen desire to eradicate them as 
early as possible. 

This you can surely do, if only you 
will repeat, over and over again, night 
and morning, "I am afraid of nothing in 
the world. Nothing will harm me, for 
there is nothing to harm me." 

157 



Every night and morning say this over 
and over again. Or, if your child suffers 
from night terrors, wait until he is asleep 
and say to him "Dear heart, you are going 
to sleep soundly all night. You won't have 
any more bad dreams. You won't be 
afraid of the dark. You won't be afraid 
of being lost. You'll be brave. For there 
isn't a thing to be afraid of." 

Say this several times before you kiss 
him and leave him. 

If you will observe this formula for 
yourself, and if you will give your child 
the benefit of the suggestions I have here 
outlined, you will drive out the ancient 
racial memories, positively removing the 
fears that seem so foolish to us oldsters, but 
that are so much more vital and soul 
harrassing to the more impressionable 
and more highly organized child. 

Banish the Fear of Fear. 

And yet, fear itself is not so bad. It 
is the fear of fear that is so really serious — 
particularly with nervous adults. 

There are very few things of which 
grown men and women are actually afraid. 

158 



Yet there are a great many things they 
are afraid of being afraid of. 

For instance, few public speakers, actors 
or singers would ever have stage fright, 
if they were not afraid of having it. 

Stammering and stuttering are very large- 
ly due to the fear of stammering and stut- 
tering. 

Awkwardness is, to a great extent, due 
to the fear of being awkward. You remem- 
ber the old saying "The things we dread 
the most are the things that never happen." 

Most of us appreciate the fact that we 
finally come face to face with the person 
or the circumstance we have dreaded the 
most, that we are perfectly cool and col- 
lected. 

It was not the actual thing that most 
influenced us. It was the fear that we were 
going to be afraid of it that caused our 
soul-quaking. 

This is true even of death, conceded to 
be the most terrifying of all earthly ex- 
periences. We believe that we are afraid 
to die. Yet most death beds are dignified 
and serene. Which proves that it is not 
death we fear so much as the dread that 
we are going to be afraid of it. 

159 



True of Salesmanship Also. 

Fear is a terrible deterrent factor, even 
in salesmanship, and in business and social 
life generally. 

Frank Lincoln Scott, in an excellent 
little manual entitled "Autosuggestion and 
Salesmanship/' says: 

"It is the anticipation of fear that 
weakens very many otherwise good sales 
talks. The salesman finds that he really 
is not afraid when once he gets into action. 
The worst thing of all about fear is the 
fear of it. 

"It is a curious law of the mind that 
a picture held in the imagination draws 
all of our thoughts, words and deeds as 
a magnet draws iron filings. 

"If you have a picture of yourself run- 
ning into a telegraph pole as you are learn- 
ing to drive an automobile, you will prob- 
ably hit it. If you think of yourself as 
weak and sick, the chances are that you 
will soon become weak and sick." 

Yet you get rid of fear — the enemy of all 
wholesome thought and constructive work 
— by banishing the "fear picture" from 
your mind. 

160 



Turn your thoughts to pictures of 
strength, courage, beauty and efficiency, 
and inevitably these qualities will grow 
and strengthen in you. 

Say to yourself "Mine own shall come 
to me" — and believe it — and you can bring 
about healthful physical conditions, as well 
as what may even be the more important 
things that concern us — such as love, loy- 
alty and the moral forces. 



161 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Ghosts on West Forty Ninth Street. 

Scientists admit that, in the vast majority 
of cases, where spirits — granting that these 
exist — can manifest at all, they ordinarily 
do so through some person keenly developed 
in a psychical way. For the spirits seem 
to require the force, or the vital essence 
— or whatever it may be — abstracted or 
borrowed from this sensitive individual, in 
order to make their presence manifest — 
either to the eye or to the ear. So it is 
believed. 

These presences may be "phantasms of 
of the living," as Myers calls them. Or 
they may be delusions or hallucinations — 
tricks and whimsies of the subconscious 
mind of the beholder. 

Or else they may be materialized intelli- 
gences, as definite and tangible as a sack 
of flour or an attack of measles. 

168 



The fact that the same presence is seen 
by a number of different people, at different 
times, and always in the same form, or 
that the same noises, or raps, or footsteps 
are heard, is highly significant, to say the 
least. 

It puts the matter outside the domain 
of pure coincidence. And, granting that 
those who see the presences, or hear the 
noises, are in the possession of their normal 
faculties, it establishes a fairly definite con- 
viction of belief in some sort of supernor- 
mal visitation. 

Have I Seen Ghosts? 

The literature on psychic research is re- 
plete with experiences of evidential value 
in respect of these phenomena — attested 
to by witnesses of unquestioned credibility. 

So far as I, personally, am concerned, 
I can truly state that I have seen — and 
in my work, I am constantly seeing — forms 
that are almost as clearly outlined and 
well defined as though they were the actual 
bodies of human beings. 

Even the garments or clothes these spirits 
seem to wear are tangible and material to 
me. So much so that I have repeatedly 

163 



described presences dressed in an odd or 
usual manner. The description of these 
spirits — if such they were — seemed to defi- 
nitely identify them to the man or woman 
for whom the spirit was supposed to be 
bringing a message. 

I am well aware that a possible ex- 
planation, or a description of a spirit, rec- 
ognized as the father, mother or some 
long-dead relative, might lie in telepathic 
communication — my mind reading the de- 
scription of the dead relative from the 
mind of one for whom I might be bringing 
the message. 

I frankly admit that mental suggestion 
might play an important role in causing 
me to see and describe a certain person 
supposed to be in spirit life — if the descrip- 
tion of that person had been given to me 
— which, by the way, it never is. 

But why should I see the same forms 
and hear the same strange, unexplainable 
sounds, as are seen and heard by others, 
weeks, months, or even years afterwards? 

Why, if there is not some tangible, 
material thing to see, or some definite 
sound to hear, do different people — any 
people who happen to occupy or visit the 

164 



ghost-ridden rooms — see and hear the same 
ghosts? 

And, if it is attempted to explain these 
phenomena by telepathy or by the trans- 
mission of impressions from some living 
individual somewhere, why is it that many 
of these spirits, seen by different individuals, 
are obviously of another age — of fifty, a 
hundred, or even five hundred years ago — 
as I have repeatedly seen? 

These are perplexing questions, and diffi- 
cult of solution, if denial of their spiritual- 
istic origin be attempted. 

How Spirits Nearly Lost Me My Hotel 
Home. 

But now I come to a consideration of 
what, at the time, promised to be a very 
disagreeable and embarrassing situation. 

In March, 1922, Mr. J. F., Manager of 
the Hotel M., West 49th St., New York, 
where I had lived for a number of years, 
came to me and asked that I give up my 
apartment. He gave as his reason the fact, 
that because of my ghostly visitors, he was 
unable to keep the two other apartments 
on the same floor occupied. His guests 
complained that they were utterly unable 

165 



to sleep or to get a moment's rest at night, 
because they were disturbed by visions and 
noises of a most unusual nature. 

The last people to occupy the two other 
apartments on the tenth floor, the apart- 
ments adjoining mine, had left but a few 
days before, laughingly stating that they 
had never expected to be disturbed by "dead 
ones," but that enough was too much of 
what they had seen since coming to these 
apartments. 

One of the gentlemen was Mr. Robert 
Noble, a scholar, dramatic actor, and an 
ex soldier, having seen service with the 
British forces in Gallipoli. 

In the other apartment two brothers, 
Nathan and Ivan Ichman, had settled them- 
selves in what they fondly hoped was to 
be their permanent home. 

But the striking visions and the startling 
noises were entirely too disconcerting for 
them. These gentlemen left precipitately 
suffering from an extremely bad case of 
nerves and "blue funk." 

The strange and interesting part of this 
is that these three gentlemen and myself, 
independently and unknown at the time to 
one another, had each seen the self same 
ghosts and heard the identical noises con- 

166 



nected with the presence of the spirits in 
the apartment. 

These poor ghosts were harmless enough, 
I suppose, apart from their undesired pres- 
ence — not at all of the malignant or mis- 
chievous type — and having none of the 
noisy, disturbing "polter-geist" characteris- 
tics—rattling, banging or shrieking around. 

One of these spirits was an Indian of 
my tribe, dressed in the war-bonnet of a 
Cherokee Chief of at least fifty years ago. 

They all acted as though they were lone- 
some and merely wanted to "wait around" 
a little while. 

I confess, with some shame, however, 
that they scared me almost to death, al- 
though my little son, a bright lad of four, 
seemed to hold intelligent and interesting 
converse with them — especially when he 
was left alone in the apartment for a while. 

These spirits were personalities — quite as 
distinct as President Harding or Jack 
Dempsey or Marion Davies, and quite as 
readily identified by myself, certain visitors 
and dinner guests (who also saw them), 
and by the gentlemen who were driven 
from home because of their presence. 

167 



I Receive a Dispossess Notice. 

However, business is business, and a man- 
ager must keep his hotel apartments filled 
if he would make money for his employers. 
So, , finally, a dispossess notice was served 
on me, as I had refused to quietly vacate 
my apartment. 

I was in considerable of a quandary, as 
for many years, I had made my home, when 
in New York, in this particular apartment, 
and it was really the only "home" my road- 
weary heart could turn to. 

I pleaded with the manager for a little 
time, and then what do you think I did? 

That very afternoon, — for my uncanny 
visitors just came in and made themselves 
at home at all hours of the day and night 
in my apartment, — I spoke to two of my 
ghostly friends — the Indian Chief and a 
dear little old lady, who happened to be 
"visiting" at the same time. 

I summoned up every particle of cour- 
age I had — and please believe me I needed 
it all, and a little bit more — and I ex- 
plained to these good spirits the dilemma 
I was in. I told them how I regretted to 
seem inhospitable. But, I added, that they 
must realize, much better than I, the feel- 

168 



ings engendered by their presence, and by 
their constant attempts to communicate by 
rappings and scratchings, and in other ways 
that scared us almost to death. 

I talked to them, holding my little boy 
by the hand for moral support, and asked 
them if they wouldn't please stay away. 

My visitors seemed to understand. They 
were really solicitous and sympathetic. They 
told me, or rather I received their message 
clairaudiently — that they would trouble me 
no more. 

And they all have kept their word. Dear, 
good, kindly souls. God bless them, where- 
ever they are, and in whatever condition 
they may be. They meant no harm. I 
earnestly hope that they are happy, and 
that some day, when I can more fully 
appreciate them, we may get to know one 
another much better. 



169 



CHAPTER XIV. 

The Hope of the World. 

"Incentives come from the 

soul's self; 
The rest avails not." 

— Browning. 

In the last analysis perhaps it may be 
the soul itself that brings healing balm to 
hurt minds and toxined bodies. 

I like to think of the dauntless courage 
of some of the souls I have met — many 
of them housed in bodies the most decrepit. 

And some there are who have been sore- 
tried — those who have shuddered away from 
the most desolate of all desolate sounds on 
earth — the dull thud of clod on coffin. 
Theirs is a dignification of grief that cries 
aloud for help. 

Yet there is help — help and healing balm 
for them, in Nature, the wise Consoler and 

170 



Comforter. Under the immensity of the 
flittering vault at night, by the ceaseless 
surge of the restless ocean, under the green 
arch of the forest glade, on the white desert 
of the snow-clad field, or prone on the 
brown bosom of old Mother Earth — re- 
charging the wasted dynamos of Life with 
her strength-giving magnetism — from all 
these there comes finally that peace that 
passeth understanding. 

And know also, that one cannot flee real 
trouble. One must learn to live with 
sorrow, bitterness, or loss, and the worry 
they entail, before they can ever be for- 
gotten. This does not mean that we must 
make a fetish of our trouble, dragging it 
around, as the murderer of old dragged the 
corpse of his victim. It means looking the 
sorrow, the shock, or the bereavement 
frankly in the face, until the stern linea- 
ments soften into benignancy, and the re- 
pellant features take on the tender smile 
of an old friend. 

Then also, there is the healing satisfac- 
tion of work. To keep busy — in the open 
air — if possible. But, in any event, to oc- 
cupy mind and body in the task that must 
be done. 

171 



And healthfulness also. To live a life 
of service, to give one's self unselfishly 
to humanity that the sum total of suffering 
in the world may be decreased. It all 
brings its reward in quiet nerves and self 
forgetfulness. 

Cell Replacement. 

There is one influence of autosuggestion 
that seems most important, and yet that 
perhaps has not been sufficiently stressed 
in these pages. This is the function of cell 
replacement. 

Remember that our bodies are composed 
wholly of cells, and that these cells are 
constantly breaking down, being eliminated 
as waste, and being replaced by new cells. 

In some cases, as for instance in the 
linings of the digestive tract, the cells are 
replaced very frequently, perhaps several 
times a day. In other cases the process is 
much slower, in the bones, for instance. 
In the case of the teeth, perhaps not at 
all (at least for the enamel). 

Broken down cells are usually replaced 
about as before, but probably never ex- 
actly the same. A scar is the mark of where 
replacement occurred as near to previous 

172 



conditions as could be brought about. All 
growth, from infancy to youth, from youth 
to maturity, from maturity to age, reveals 
how the cells have been replaced a bit 
differently — nearly the same, but not quite. 
If they were to be replaced exactly the same 
no face would ever become wrinkled and 
old, no bones brittle, no cheeks hollow, no 
hair gray. 

The changes in the human face reveal 
this change to our vision. But exactly the 
same changes also occur in our internal 
organs. Thus, for instance, when one has 
tuberculosis, the cells of the lungs which 
break down are not being replaced, as they 
should be, by strong and healthy cells 
of the same character. 

Now, this process of cell replacement, 
like the automatic functions is wholly un- 
der the control of the unconscious mind. 
And orders can be given to the unconscious 
mind which can be obeyed. Of course there 
are limits to this. The discovery of these 
limits is the discovery of limitations of 
suggestive or mental treatment. 

Not all orders will be obeyed. Cell re- 
placement is automatic within certain limits 
— as the natural healing of a superficial 

173 



cut shows. But there is no hope that we 
may ever be able to order the replacement 
of any part or organ, and have any legiti- 
mate expectations that such orders will be 
obeyed. The lizard that has lost his tail 
may hope for a new one. But the man 
who has lost a finger or a pair of tonsils 
need have no such hope. 

There are various ways in which sub- 
conscious orders may be given. We can 
give orders to our own unconscious mind y 
and confidently expect them to be obeyed. 
As illustration, take the skater or the 
dancer. If they were to think exactly what 
to do with their feet, they would be lost. 
The only way they can either skate or 
dance, once the art is learned, is to trust 
to the unconscious mind and think of some- 
thing else. 

Perhaps a better illustration would be 
the musician. If the musician had to think 
with his conscious mind of the individual 
notes, he would fail miserably. His suc- 
cess as a player depends upon his ability 
to throw the load subconsciously, to "go 
off and leave it running," sure that the un- 
conscious will give proper orders to his 
fingers to do the needed work at the right 

174 



moment of time, without conscious atten- 
tion from him. 

In like manner you can, as a general 
rule (in at least 70% of all persons) order 
your unconscious mind to awake you at a 
predetermined hour of the night or morning 
and be reasonably sure that such an order 
will be obeyed. 

You can even order the recalling of a 
forgotten name, and have it done while 
you sleep — for the unconscious never sleeps. 
Some can order the solving of a problem 
of which they already possess all the fac- 
tors, and feel confident that it will be cor- 
rectly done during sleep. 

Suggestions Given By Another Perhaps 
More Effective. 

Self given orders, however, are not the 
most effective. The most effective orders 
are those given by a second party during 
hypnosis. Hypnosis may be of any degree 
of intensity, although it is safe to say that 
the more intense the condition, the more 
completely will the unconscious accept or- 
ders. 

During the condition known as hypnosis 
the conscious mind is temporarily side- 

175 



tracked, and cannot doubt or question, 
much less interfere with, or rebel against 
the orders which reach the unconscious. 

Take the illustration of a man walking a 
narrow plank. The man may order him- 
self to do this, and will have no doubt of 
his ability to succeed, while the plank is 
on the ground. Raise the same plank high 
off the ground, and he can give the same 
orders to his unconscious mind to work 
the legs and preserve the balance correctly. 
But he now doubts his ability, and falls. 

Let the man, however, be thoroughly 
hypnotized, and he will walk the same 
plank, wherever it may be. For now his 
conscious mind is no longer in position 
to doubt or question the due carrying out 
of orders by the unconscious, and he does 
not fall. 

Of course, anything else which will "side- 
track" the conscious mind will have the 
same effect. Great excitement frequently 
produces such a result, or great love, or 
even insanity. Soldiers, in the excitement 
of battle, suffer ills of the flesh which under 
other circumstances would cause a prompt 
collapse. Yet they "carry on." 

Under hypnosis wonderful things can be 
done — with a lump of ice, or a finger point, 

1T6 



or nothing at all. Blisters can be caused to 
rise, bleeding can be controlled — at least 
to a considerable extent. 

Orders to the unconscious may be either 
general or special. 

It is probable, however, that specific or- 
ders are much more effective. For instance, 
if a tumor can be cured by this method, 
it would be better to order that the blood 
carrying nutriment, be withheld from the 
rebel growth — that the evil cells be absorbed 
and eliminated, that the tumor dry up and 
disappear. Such orders will be more effec- 
tive, and their result more permanent than 
general assurances that "in every way" one 
is growing "better and better." 

The Pernicious Influence of Wrong 
Thinking. 

Right thinking builds up. Wrong think- 
ing not only tears down, but it actually 
poisons while it is tearing down. 

Recall the disastrous effects in acidify- 
ing the secretions, produced by the influ- 
ence of rage, hate, fear, or terrible grief. 
Shakespeare has referred to this where he 
makes Lady Macbeth say: 

177 



"Come to my woman's breast 

And take my milk for gall, 

You murdering Ministers, 

Wherever, in your sightless substances 

You wait on Nature's mischief." 

Many a child has died in convulsions 
shortly after suckling an infuriated, out- 
raged, or grief-stricken mother. 

This emphasizes the importance of pre- 
serving our equanimity under all circum- 
stances, and maintaining, by serenity and 
right thinking, the normal alkalinity of our 
tissues and body fluid. 

But Do Not Fear Prenatal Influences. 

This, however, does not imply that any 
influence, except the influence of disturbed 
nutrition or under-nutrition, can ever effect 
the mental, physical or cultural growth of 
a child while it is in the womb. 

Certain psychologists, such as Brooks and 
Baudouin, speak of prenatal impressions, 
"markings", and the mental attitude of the 
expectant mother, as though these were veri- 
table facts. They say: 

"The education of a child ought to be- 
gin before its birth. In sober truth, if a 

178 



woman, a few weeks after conception, makes 
a mental picture of the sex of the child 
she is going to bring forth into the world, 
of the physical and moral qualities with 
which she desires to see it endowed, and 
if she will continue during the time of 
gestation to impress on herself the same 
mental image, the child will have the sex 
and qualities desired." 

Nothing in the world could be further 
from the truth. For children are not born 
from their parents' body cells, nor from 
their bone$ or blood, or brains or nervous 
system — nor from their likes or dislikes. 
They are born from the family germ cells — 
eggs and spermatozoa. 

These germ cells come from their parents 
— but the characteristics were handed them 
by all the parents they ever had — back to 
the Tertiary man, a million years old, 
recently discovered in Patagonia. 

It may disappoint, or even grieve some 
mothers to know that the cultural pursuits 
in which they engage during pregnancy, the 
prayer and the suggestion as to what they 
might want their little boy or girl to be, 
is time and effort wasted — so far as any 
effect upon their progeny is concerned. 

179 



Yet it may also comfort other mothers 
to know that, no matter what their worries 
or mental conditions, or shocks or frights 
— their unborn child was, and always will 
be protected from the most severe of these. 

For, as Professor Albert Wiggam says: 

"We all know that the only way in 
which a mother's mental impressions could 
travel through her body to that of the 
baby is by way of the pathway of the 
nerves. But no nerves whatsoever run from 
the mother's body to that of the unborn 
babe. 

"There is a small hollow cord — the um- 
bilical cord — which is the sole connection 
between the mother and the child. But this 
has no more function than a hose pipe. It 
is really a path, temporarily, of the circu- 
latory system of the child. 

"It does not, so far as modern science 
goes, convey fright, worry or nervous im- 
pressions. And such things do not travel 
in the blood, so far as has even been found 
out. Obviously God has placed the child 
safely away, so nothing of this sort ever 
touch it. Possibly its sole aim has been 
to prevent mothers' "desires," ambitions, 
dreams, hopes, disgusts, fears, unusual sym- 

180 



pathies for wheezy hogs or anything else 
from ever reaching the unborn." 

Prenatal care, prenatal feeding of the 
mother, and careful nursing after birth 
are important. These things are of sur- 
passing and vital interest. 

The mother should be calm, free from 
worry and overwork, and should make these 
months a term of joy and happiness. All 
this influences her nutrition, and helps to 
keep the babe well nourished. 

But that is all there is to it. 

Your Soul and Its Future Life. 

And now we come to the last question 
of all — perhaps the most important ques- 
tion that can concern a human being him- 
self. "If a man die, shall he live again?" 

If this life is a preparation for a richer 
and more perfect life in the days' to come 
when "this muddy vesture of decay" shall 
have been resolved into the elements, we 
are thoroughly justified in trying, now, to 
learn all we can about the life that is to 
be. 

If, as so many millions believe, we are 
to live in another plane of existence, we 

181 



would be clods indeed did we not take 
the liveliest interest in the possible activi- 
ties of this future life. 

I submit that, so far as affording us 
anything definite and tangible is concerned, 
the so-called inspired writings and the 
Bibles of the world have nothing to offer, 
except the nebulous hope of a promise we 
have made to our own outreachings. 

The sublime ethical and moral philoso- 
phy of the scriptures, and the promise of 
joys to come, bring comfort and consola- 
tion to millions. 

But they bring only hope — not proof — 
of a future life. 

This proof, if it is ever to come can come 
from one source- — and from one source 
only. And this is by actual communion 
with the souls of those who have passed 
behind the veil. 

I believe sincerely that I have had the 
privilege of this communion. I believe 
I have had such indubitable evidence 
of the continued existence of the soul after 
death, as to warrant me in saying, with 
every emphasis of which I am capable "I 
know that there is a future life. I know 
that the soul lives on after the death of 

182 



the body. I know that sometimes I shall 
see those whom I have loved and lost." 

It is a great comfort, and a great satis- 
faction, this definite knowledge. 

That it may, thru the study of psychic 
phenomena, or in any other definite way, 
come to every reader of "Lifting the Veil", 
and to every other seeking soul on earth, 
is my heartfelt hope and prayer. 

Gratefully, 

Princess Wahletka. 



183 



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